


Boys of Summer

by EtchedGhost



Series: Any Last Words Bitch? This is My Win. [2]
Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), M/M, Sex, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swearing, Violence, they say fuck a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:40:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 44,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29165841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtchedGhost/pseuds/EtchedGhost
Summary: It's three months. The longest time for some things, and the shortest for others. Time is going too slowly and far too fast. Decisions need to be made, relationships need to be developed, fun needs to be had.Summer in South Park and Denver, and the familiar lives affected along the road to the final summer holiday of high school, as college looms on the horizon.OrHow Kenny can't make up his fucking mind about anything. Including his soulmate.
Relationships: Clyde Donovan/Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Damien Thorn/?, Kenny McCormick/Craig Tucker
Series: Any Last Words Bitch? This is My Win. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123265
Comments: 54
Kudos: 60





	1. Choose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You, Kenny McCormick, are the king of avoidance. See? You’re even fucking doing it right now. You don’t wanna talk about any of this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've joined tumblr: https://etchedghost.tumblr.com/. Gimme a poke if you wanna fandomise.

* * *

##  **  
CHAPTER ONE**

##  **Choose**

* * *

_Chapter One Song (Kenny’s): Zac Efron - Scream  
Chapter One Song (Craig’s): Will Gittens- A Day With You  
_

* * *

Craig was back at home. He'd dropped everyone else back at their houses. Tweek had offered to hang out to 'talk' about things, but Craig had looked towards Clyde, who had barely spoken a word on their drive back. Tweek had taken the hint, reminding Craig that he too was allowed to 'feel shitty' and that he was around if Craig changed his mind. 

Honestly, there was no point in talking about things. He was going to feel like this for a while. Even if the groups made trips between Denver and South Park, the threadsnap would happen again and again.

He knew the solution. Time and proximity. Unfortunately, it wasn't as if he could just move, or suggest that Kenny move. As appealing as that option seemed, they had things going on. They were about to start college. Hopefully, they could wrangle it so they went to the same one. Craig wasn't sure if he could deal with this feeling over the span of uni. He'd seen what it had done to Tweek over the years. Now that had been truly cruel. 

Entering his room, he was acutely aware of the silence. It felt so...empty. No energetic thoughts, or songs being sung. And it was compounded by lack of sound in the house. His parents weren't in, and he wasn't sure where Tricia was. The house was silent. 

Almost mechanically, he unpacked everything, throwing clothes in to be washed. He took a shower, made lunch, didn’t eat said lunch. Eventually, he gave up on being productive, and moved towards his bed, all but collapsing onto it.   
Craig considered himself someone who could just ‘get on with things’. He was good at pushing through, regardless of problem or tragedy. 

This however… 

How was he supposed to even muster the energy to do anything but stay laying on his bed for however long until he was able to meet up with Kenny?

....God he sounded pathetic didn’t he? 

He sighed into the pillow. This was definitely pathetic. He was essentially sulking into his pillow. He was better than this.   
But, was his mind always so damn silent? It was almost disconcerting. And he should really have known it was going to be like this, it wasn’t like he’d not experience threadsnap this weekend just gone. Just...he’d never been alone when it had happened. It had always happened with people around. 

And he’d never had problems with being alone before this weekend. In fact, he’d liked having his own time. Prior to this weekend, he’dv’e thanked the powers that be that no one was in. Having an empty house was usually a rare pleasure.   
He should get up and do something. It was the middle of the day in the summer. He should find a way to distract himself. Yeah, that was a good plan. 

He wondered if Kenny was back home. 

No, he wasn't going to do this. It was pointless, and logically he had things he could be getting on with. He still hadn't decided which of his colleges he was going to accept. He'd gotten into the ones he wanted: Caltech, Stanford and Cambridge. Admittedly, the last one had been to see if he could more than anything, plus the idea of studying abroad was pretty appealing. Or it had been. He was kind of reevaluating everything now. He supposed it was something he and Kenny at least needed to talk about. But if it came down to it, he could study anywhere. 

  
They’d figure it out. 

His phone chimed, and he pulled it towards him from his desk.  
  


**TWEEK:** _I’m taking Clyde Harbucks. Come along._  
**CRAIG:** _That doesn't sound like a request_  
**TWEEK:** _It wasn’t. We’ll be there in fifteen._  
**CRAIG:** _You’re lucky I already showered._  
**TWEEK:** _I’d’ve dragged you out regardless._  
**CRAIG:** _Fine._

He guessed that was the end of moping. Plus, he probably should be there for Clyde. Clyde was their ‘soft’ friend, and he’d need the shoulders to literally cry on. 

It was at times like this he missed Stripe. Stripe had always been great at cheering Clyde up. 

Stripe would be great to have around right now. 

Shaking thoughts of a long since deceased pet out of his thoughts, he instead spent the time before Tweek pulled up outside his house debating whether to message Kenny. Just as he’d talked himself into doing so, he received a message from Tweek that they were outside, so he put the thoughts out of his mind for now.

Or he tried at least.  
  
  


* * *

  
“Just a minute Kinny.”

“What is it, fatass?”

“Just...give me a minute Kinny.”

Kenny hated Cartman’s calm, almost wheedling tone he used sometimes. It always spelt trouble, and he wasn’t usually on the receiving end of it. 

“Cartman, if you're about to tell me that you have thousands of ballot slips in your room, I honestly don’t care, that’s Kyle’s bugbait, not mine.”

Cartman didn’t react to the obvious jab. Just looked at Kenny steadily, waiting for him to shut the engine off. Kenny tutted and did so, half turned so he could see Cartman.

“So, what’s this about?”

  
“Kinny...what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Kenny inwardly winced at the contrast in calm tone and harsh words. He’d wanted to avoid any sort of questions from Cartman. Already, his goodbye to Craig had been met with a suspicious look, and if he was honest, he really hadn’t been in the mood to satisfy Cartman’s curiosity. Which had been fine while there were others in the car. And Cartman, sensing no weakness or bend from Kenny, had turned on Leo, who unlike Kenny and Craig, had been openly affectionate with his goodbye to Clyde. So Kenny had spent a lot of the journey home deflecting questions aimed at Leo.   
  
And he was 100% regretting not giving a better goodbye. Who knew how long it would be until they saw each other again. Threadsnap stung and hurt, and he’d only had to put up with it for a few hours at a time at most. This was going to be a lot different.

And now, he’d dropped Stan and Kyle off, and then Leo. And Kenny realised he’d dropped people off in a terrible order. It made sense though, Cartman’s house was the last stop before his own. And now Cartman had spoken up, as if waiting for them to be alone, waiting for the moment Kenny had pulled up outside Cartman’s house. Now with the truck parked, and no other excuse to ignore Cartman, Kenny very quickly realised that short of telling Cartman to ‘get the fuck out of the truck’ he was stuck. 

And of course, Cartman was not going to leave this alone, if his question was anything to go by.

“What do you mean?” 

Cartman scowled. 

“You know what I mean. Ever since last night, you’ve been fucking weird. I thought you were just in a pissy mood last night, but then Kahl goes and changes the rooms for Butters and his boyfriend, and I find myself wondering why the fuck Kyle didn’t just swap with Butters and send you to stay with me and Stan. But I don’t think too much about it, mostly because I don’t care. But then I hear that you’re not sharing a room with that Craig guy you kissed, you’re sleeping in your truck, and then I fucking wake up to Stan and Kyle giggling because you apparently got your ass hauled into the room anyway. Which is fucking weird. Why should some random SUV asshole we met this weekend give a fuck where you sleep? Even if you are a kinda ‘thing’.”

Cartman paused, and Kenny kept his face blank. He didn’t want to give anything away while he still had an out of sorts. 

“And then there’s this morning, where you get out of your truck, stand next to the same guy in silence, just staring at each other, then you steal his fucking hat, and leave. And that’s not even touching upon any of the shit you’ve been doing during games. Like, the whole fucking world knew there was some sorta thing between you, but it was a long journey back to South Park, and it gave me a lot of time to...think. And I started to realise, there’s a lot more to it than an awkward long distance fuck buddy thing. And that a few conversations start to click into place, and then I remember the fact that you didn’t want to fight him, and then your gross hat stealing ‘flirting’. And it almost felt like the rest of us were only getting...half the conversation. And then you know the oddest thing? I remember you asking me something on the way to breakfast. Something so uncharacteristically unlike you that I almost dismiss it entirely. But it niggles Kenny. And I couldn’t let it go, and I realise that it’s because all the other clues slotted perfectly into place next to it.”

Cartman was looking intently at him now, and Kenny tried to maintain his expression, but Cartman had clearly seen something, because his expression became smug.

Kenny let out a breath. Cartman was too smart for his own fucking good. Especially when you thought he wasn’t paying attention. And yeah, Cartman was his friend, his good friend. He might even be persuaded to admit that growing up at one point, Cartman had been his best friend, despite his general assholeness. And honestly, in moments like this, he was glad of it. Having Cartman as an enemy was dangerous.   
  


“Yeah, okay, you’re right.” He eventually admitted after a few moments of silence.

“Oh I know I am Kinny. The obvious clues add up. It’s a lot more involved than ‘fuckbuddy’ level. The real question is, why Kahl knows.”

“What makes you think he does?”

“Oh please. He’s so fucking easy to read. Always standing alone with you, talking quietly, looking over at Craig. Kyle can’t help himself but try and fix things, and when he does, everyone knows about it.”

Kenny couldn’t help it, he grinned at that comment. Mostly because it was entirely true. If they had a mother hen of their group, it was 100% Kyle without question. 

“Look, it’s not like that, I had to get Kyle to come and help me after it happened, and he did.”

“Well, guess we’re gonna sit here until you tell me everything.”

Kenny supposed it was only fair, seeing as everyone else in their group knew.So, with a little bit of reluctance, and an element of ‘really not wanting to think about it’, he slowly explained all that had occurred this weekend. And after he was done, Cartman sat in silence for a moment.

“So, I was right, when we were getting breakfast, and you were asking about soulmate stuff..”  
  
“Yeah, already happened.”  
  
“...So, why the fuck are you here?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Why. The. Fuck. Are . You. Here?”  
  
  
Kenny was taken aback at the question.   
  
  
“He lives in Denver.”  
  
“So?”  
  
“Well, it’s not like we can stay in proximity.”  
  
  
Cartman sighed.   
  
“Kinny...If I’d found either of my soulmates, I’d stick close to them during the fucking transitional period, you dumb fuck.”  
  
“What if they were both opposite ends of the country?” Kenny couldn’t help but quip.   
  
“Then I’d fucking travel between the two, or drag one along with me. You shouldn’t be separated two fucking days after linking. Fuck, I tried to tell Butters the same thing, but he didn’t want to bother Clyde’s family, or worry his. I figured you’d give less of a fuck, but I guess not. You’re here, he’s there.”

“I had to bring you guys home.”  
  
“Oh please! Stan would’ve totally done that if you’d’ve asked. And you’re actually being quite selfish Kinny.”  
  
“Say fucking what? How am I being selfish??”  
  
“If you’d’ve stayed, I bet Butters would’ve as well.”  
  
“No he-” Kenny stopped.  
  
Yeah, he would’ve wouldn’t he? Leo was like that. Didn’t want to mess with plans, or cause an inconvenience. 

“Ah fuck....well...it’s too late now.” Kenny sighed, running a hand through his hair in irritation. Why was it when Cartman laid things out, they always seemed to make so much sense? This was how they ended up in so many plots, Cartman was amazing at reasoning through things, seeing the bigger picture. 

Cartman rolled his eyes.

“It’s not too fucking late, you’re sitting in your truck. Fucking drive back.”

“Yeah, because that won’t freak my parents out or anything.”

“Oh jeez, how could you possibly solve that. If only you had the power to...explain shit to them so they’d understand, oh if only that was a possible option.” Cartman looked up at the ceiling of the truck, with one finger placed on his chin in a mockingly thoughtful expression. 

“Alright, alright prick, I know I can do that. I just…” Telling his parents? That sounded like something he wanted to avoid like the plague.   
Kenny was startled by the truck door opening.

“Whatever Kinny. I gave you a solution to your problem. If you’re too dumb to follow it through, well, you can’t really blame anyone but yourself when you’re all alone.”  
And before Kenny could even say a goodbye, or even flip him a middle finger, Cartman was gone, walking along the path that led up to his house.

  
“Fuck.”

  
Cartman just went and made things a whole lot more fucked up in his head.  
  


* * *

  
Karen loved all her family very dearly. Family was especially important to her since they’d been fostered together. It had been...tough back then, especially for her brothers, in different ways. Kevin, well he’d gone into himself for a while, barely interacting with anyone for a whole year. Kenny had made up for the silence with noise. Lots of noise. He, as always, had been overprotective over her, and these people, now their parents, had back then been strangers. And whereas Kevin and herself went along with what they’d been reasonably asked, Kenny had kicked up a fuss over everything.

Karen had fully expected that they would cancel the fostering. But over time, something odd had happened. Instead of getting annoyed at her brothers, they had helped them. Kevin over time, with their parent’s patience and encouragement, had opened up to them, had started to take notice in school again, had started to concentrate, talk with friends again. People back then looking at Kevin now wouldn’t recognise him. 

Kenny...had taken a little longer. He wasn’t malevolent, just...difficult. He would routinely argue with their foster parents, usually how to care for Karen. And that made sense. Kenny had pretty much raised her up until that point, and he was struggling with the concept that someone else could take over that role. But, like with Kevin, eventually Kenny had relaxed a little, let their parents actually help. And then it had surprised all of them the day their foster parents had sat them down, asking them if they were happy with the idea of staying with them for good. Kevin and Karen had agreed. Kenny had nodded, only after Kevin and Karen had agreed. 

And living in a place like this in comparison was...heaven. Regular food that wasn’t frozen waffles, no drunken arguments, a warm, soft bed in a safe neighbourhood of South Park. And the Kinleys (their parents' names) had doted on them, fussing over their eating, making sure their schoolwork was okay. And over time, the three of them had gotten used to it, had...settled. It had been almost seven years since they'd become a family, and it felt as if they always had. 

And now? They weren’t Alastair and Moira Kinley. They were ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. And they had never asked, but Kevin one day turned around and announced that he was changing his last name to Kinley. Mom had teared up, dad had clapped him on the back. And they’d both assured Karen and Kenny that they didn’t need to feel any obligation to do the same. Karen had been mulling the idea over. Maybe before high school. 

Kenny hadn’t really said anything about it either way. It didn’t really matter that much in the end, but Karen had a feeling that he didn’t want to change it, for whatever reason.   
And Karen saw the front door open from the kitchen, and her brother enter the house. She’d been sitting at the island in the kitchen, toying with the idea of messaging her friends to hang out. The radio was on in the kitchen, and the familiar bars of ‘I want to break free’ began as the door slammed shut exuberantly.  
Her mother’s voice came from the front room.  
  
“Kenny, door~.” The singsong tone was exasperated but fond, and from here, Karen could see her brother wince.  
  
“Sorry mom, my bad.” And he glanced over at her with a look of ‘I got caught.’  
  
“Heeey Kare bear, how was your weekend?” He leaned against the countertop. Karen took a moment to take in his appearance. It wasn’t even unusual at this stage for Kenny to come home bruised, but she liked to make sure it wasn’t anything serious, and from a cursory glance, it wasn’t.  
  
“Pretty quiet. Everyone from school spent the first couple of days off in bed watching Netflix. I’m trying to rally the troops to actually do something outside.”  
  
“Your friends are lazy Kare.”  
  
“Like you didn’t spend a week inside binging Supernatural last winter.”  
  
“It was cold out! And I only meant to watch a few episodes. Not my fault it turned out to be pretty good.”  
  
“Mom’s gonna go spare when she sees those bruises. You’re gonna get full-named.” she commented in a way of reply.  
  
“Yeah...Imma head upstairs now…”  
  
“What bruises?” came a new voice from behind them.   
  
“Ah fuck…” Kenny muttered under his breath. He glanced at Karen. Karen just looked back at him, amused more than anything. Her brother was always getting into fights, and he usually told her about them. Their mom though, was usually less than pleased. And she watched as Kenny slowly turned around, his expression showing that he was resigned to his fate, but was attempting to delay it for as long as possible. .

And their mother’s face took on many expressions; worry, shock, then exasperation and finally, irritation. She took a breath. Kenny pre-winced.  
  
“Kenneth Carrick McCormick, what in the world did you get up to to come home looking like you’ve been through the wars?!”  
  
“Mom it’s fine I just got into-”  
  
“-A fight. Oh, I’m well aware of how you got them. It’s the ‘why’ that always bothers me.” And without a pause between her lecture, she pulled Kenny over to the kitchen counter.   
  
“Stay there mister. I’ll be right back.” And she was gone.   
  
“She’s going for the arnica gel.” Kenny nodded in already surrendered agreement. They were both far too used to this routine. Their mom was pretty chilled out about most things, but when it came to injury and illness, well, it was as if they were small children once again in her eyes. And that was for all three of them. It was a quirk they’d gotten used to over the years, Kenny most of all, being as he was usually the one injured.   
  
“I’m almost 18 dammit…” was all he muttered, as if that was some kind of defense. Karen just offered him a consoling smile.   
  
“You shouldn’t get into fights if you hate what comes after. I reckon you secretly like being fussed over.” she teased, and Kenny gave her a scandalised look.   
  
“I wondered what all the full naming was for.” another voice said from the doorway. Karen glanced over at her eldest brother, who stood in the doorway. Karen noticed Kenny scowl slightly. 

The relationship between her brothers had changed a lot over the years. True, she and Kenny had always been closest, but Kenny and Kevin had always been amicable growing up. But as Kevin became more focused on study and ‘bettering himself’, and Kenny focused more on having fun and slacking off, it caused a tension that came from different lifestyles. 

And Kevin, in his own way, was trying to take care of them, and Karen could see that.   
Kenny however, could not. In his eyes, he’d been the one to keep the family going growing up. He’d been the one to get a job as a kid to try and make ends meet, or do ridiculous dares from his friends to make a bit of money. And Kenny had never said that to any of them, but Karen could see it, could hear it under the arguments her brothers had.   
Kenny didn’t want Kevin’s help. If he wanted to help Karen, that was apparently fine, they both seemed to have this odd truce agreement that she was a priority for some reason. 

But Kenny refused to let Kevin help him. 

And it was amazing how much Karen had gleaned from her brothers by just sitting and listening. The problem was the fact they never said the right words to what they meant.   
When Kevin was telling Kenny to come home or he’d tell their parents, what he meant was “I’m worried about you, please get home safely”. And when Kenny said “Why should I even bother working hard at school? If I do that I’ll end up as fucking boring as you”, what he meant was “Please understand, I don’t want to study harder, I have no interest in it like you do.”  
And it made Karen want to tear her hair out. 

Kevin raised an eyebrow at Kenny’s face, moving past him to start the coffee machine.

“You know, colleges don’t condone fighting. You might want to learn to control your temper Kenny.”

“No one asked for your fucking opinion.” Kenny retaliated.  
  
“Kenny, don’t speak like that to your brother.” their mother chided him lightly as she re-entered the kitchen, with their father in tow, who immediately went over to Kenny, draping an arm over his shoulders.  
  
“I hope you gave ‘em as good as you got.” he said with a grin, causing Kenny to mirror his expression.  
  
“Absolutely. The guy won’t be walking properly for a few days.”   
  
“Atta boy!”  
  
“Alastair, don’t encourage him.” their mom commented idly as she gently pulled Kenny into a seat at the breakfast bar and began the task of coating Kenny’s bruises with arnica gel.   
  
“So Ken, who was the unfortunate victim?” their dad asked, reaching past Kevin for a bunch of bananas from the fruit bowl.   
  
“Funny story that…” And Kenny’s expression had changed suddenly, the previous smug expression disappearing and being replaced with...something else.  


“Oh? Was it one of the players?”  
  
“Yeah, he was one of the players, but we kinda got into a fight before the start of the games.”  
  
“Kenny, open your mouth.” Their mother suddenly ordered. Kenny looked uncomfortable.   
  
“Why?”  
  
“You know why. I just saw.”  
  
Kenny sighed, reluctantly opening his mouth.   
  
“Oh for goodness...You lost a tooth?”  
  
Kenny didn’t reply.  
  
His mother looked at him for a moment, and then tutted, her expression softening. She ruffled his hair.   
  
“I’ll call Dr. Ashford later.”  
  
“Mom, it’s fine, it’s a tooth.”  
  
“And the roots are still in there. It could get infected.”  
  
“Moira, don’t coddle him. He’s almost an adult.”  
  
  
“I can coddle him if I want to. Adulthood has nothing to do with it.”

Kevin nodded in agreement to this, causing Karen to laugh. He shot her a grin, handing her a second mug of coffee, which she took gratefully. Kevin then handed a third to Kenny, who took it and nodded to his brother, immediately taking a sip, and looking relieved he had an excuse to get his mother away from his mouth. And those were the small acts the two of them missed between them. The little things Kevin did for Kenny, and visa versa. 

Plus, Kevin made fantastic coffee. 

“So, what’s this ‘funny story’?” Kevin commented. Kenny shot him a dirty look. So, Kenny didn’t wanna talk about it. But it was too late, as mom and dad were also looking expectantly at him.   
  
“Uh, so...well..”  
  
Karen raised an eyebrow as Kenny flushed.   
  
“The player I met. After we fought, we played airsoft, and we might’ve, potentially...ah fuck this is embarassing!” Kenny ended with a snapped tone.   
  
“Is it something bad hun?” their mother asked, suddenly looking concerned.   
  
“Honestly didn’t expect to be doing this in front of the whole damn family, but whatever...I linked with someone.”   
  
“You...linked with someone?”  
  
“Yeah, y’know, ‘linked’”  
  
There were blank faces for a moment, and Kenny sighed.   
  
“For fu...uh, I linked with my s-the guy I fought with was my s-soulmate. Anyway, great coffee, better unpack the truck!” And Kenny was up, and out of the door with a slam before the rest of the family could react.   
  
Karen looked at her family, at their reactions.   
  
“My baby...found his soulmate?” And both Kevin and Karen glanced at each other. They knew what was coming. Their dad was already wordlessly handing the kitchen paper towels over.

Kevin leaned towards Karen as their dad stepped in as ‘mom comforter’  
  
“Only Kenny would get into a fistfight with the person he’s meant to be with.”  
  
Karen couldn’t help it, she giggled.

* * *

All Kenny could hear was the sound of Kyle laughing hysterically over the phone.   
  
“Fuck off. It’s not like I meant for things to happen that way. I had to sit in my truck for TWENTY damn minutes. Id’v’e waited longer, but fucking Kevin came out and told me “You caused this, you should deal with the consequences.” Like an asshole. No, not like an asshole, like a…” And Kenny struggled to come up with a word that wasn’t too harsh, but indicative of his irritation.   
  
_“Dude, I feel so bad for you. What a way to come out.”_  
  
“And it was Kevin’s fault to start with! He brought it back up again!”  
  
_“It wasn’t like you weren’t gonna tell them.”_  
  
“Remind me, when you tell your mom when you’ve linked, to laugh my fucking ass off when she cries all over your face and then decides to ring up all your Jewish relatives to tell them the good news.”  
  
_“Ah, fuck yeah...that’s gonna be a thing isn’t it? So, what happened after?”_  
  
“So, I came back in the house, and dad’s fucking cooked up banana pancakes.”

_“Ah dude! Wish I’d been there for those. What else?”_

“...Mom starts asking when they can meet Craig, and I’m like ‘I met the guy two days ago, gimme a chance’, so she starts quizzing me. What’s his name? How old is he? How did we get into a fight? What’s he look like? Is he going to college? Where does he live?, and I’m hating Kevin right now, because he caused this, but I’m pretty sure his coffee is the only thing that is keeping me sane through this. And be fucking warned, she’s planning to invite you over. Expect questions.”  
  
_“That’s fine, I can tell her how you spent the whole weekend during airsoft chasing after Craig trying to find him so you could flirt.”_  
  
“I did NOT fucking do that!”  
  
Kenny didn’t get an answer, Kyle was laughing again.   
  
“Fuck you Kyle. You’re no help, just like Cartman.”  
  
_“Oh? What the hell did fatass say?”_  
  
“Told me to go back to Denver.”  
  
_“...I get his point.”_  
  
“You agree with him?”  
  
_“Well...your parents know now right? They’d probably be okay with him staying over, or you could go over to his if it’s the same situation.”  
_  
“We can’t just live at each other’s houses. We have like...family and shit.”  
  
_“Well, worst comes to worst, you have a spare room. Plus it’s summer dude, no school.”_

When the words came from Cartman, Kenny questioned them. It was only when Kyle reiterated them that Kenny actually considered the idea. And that idea was kinda scary

“I…You wanna do something Kyle?”

_“Yeah sure. Wanna go somewhere?”_

  
Denver. Was what Kenny wanted to answer.   
  


“Ike’s staying with friends, and parents are on ‘date night’, so we can go out, or stay here.”  
  


“I’ll meet you at yours in ten.” Kenny hung up before Kyle could reply. He grabbed his keys, wallet and jacket, pocketing his phone in the inner pocket. Slipping on his trainers, he made his way down the stairs.  
  


“Mom. Dad. Heading to Kyle’s. Might stay the night.” He called as he reached for the door.

“Okay hun. Be safe.”

“Yeah, okay.”  
  
  
  


And Kenny, true to his word, pulled up outside Kyle’s house in under ten minutes. He knocked at the door, regretting grabbing a jacket. Even in the evening, it was still stiflingly hot. Kyle answered, half in a hoodie, struggling to get the other arm in.  
  


“I wouldn’t bother dude, it’s fucking hot out.”

Kyle removed the hoodie, tying it around his waist instead. 

“You coming in, or am I going out?” Kyle attempted to ask, the hair tie he was holding between his teeth hindering his speech slightly.

“I can’t decide honestly.”

“Let’s go for food. We can go from there.” Kyle decided, attempting (and failing) to ‘slip’ into his converse. He grumbled after a moment, and sat on his stairs to pull them on properly. After a moment, he pulled his hair back with the hair tie, and shut the door behind them.

“What you feeling?”

“Don’t really care. Somewhere not too loud.”

“Benny’s? Gonna be pretty dead on a Monday night.”

“That works.”

* * *

  
Once seated at Benny’s, Kyle ordered some food. Kenny just ordered coffee. The moment the waiter had left them, Kyle fixed his gaze on Kenny.  
  
“So, what’s up?”  
  
“It’d be weird to go to Denver, right? Like, really weird and needy seeming.”  
  
“So, you’re considering it?”  
  
“I mean, we only saw each other yesterday, it’d be really fucking weird to be back in Denver, especially as we got back this morning.”

  
“You sound like you want me to tell you it’s a bad idea.”  
  
“Well it is, isn’t it?”  
  
“Normally, yeah, but this is kinda extenuating circumstances dude...you’re in pain.”  
  
“I’m not in pain dude.”  
  
“Alright, not...pain...but...threadsnap.”  
  
  
“It’s fine. Not that bad. No problem.”

Kyle nodded as Kenny pulled out his phone to check it. He didn't believe Kenny. He’d seen Butters on the way home. He’d been miserable, and hadn’t spoken, hadn’t said goodbye, and their group chat had been absent of his presence. Usually, Kenny would be on that without question, before anyone had even considered it. But he hadn’t.

Which was the first warning sign. 

The second warning sign was what Kyle called ‘doubling down’. When Kenny felt crap, unless he was forced to talk about it, he’d fall back on ‘pretend nothing was wrong’. He’d been that way since he was a kid. Which was why they were here. 

Kyle leaned against his hand, considering his options. If he left it, Kenny would likely do nothing, pretend (badly) that things were fine, and eventually blow up at someone, a la yesterday evening.   
For the first time since Kyle had understood the concept of soulmates, he found himself...annoyed at the concept. Annoyed at the transitional period. It was just inconvenient at best, damaging to people currently. Two of his friends were going through something he couldn’t relate to. He didn’t know what they were experiencing, so didn’t know how to help. And that was really, really frustrating. 

His options were obvious. Get Craig here, or get Kenny to Denver. Which sounded ridiculous considering the fact they’d just come from Denver. But what other way was there to solve things? The other option was to leave things alone and let things resolve themselves. But they wouldn’t. Because he knew for a fact that Kenny and Craig were both idiots.   
Because he’d kept in contact with Tweek, and between them, they were ‘monitoring’ their friends. Stan had offered to take on ‘Butters duty’ for the evening, so Kyle could focus on Kenny. And Kyle was NOT going through the same shit as yesterday evening. 

"Kenny, you should message Craig."

Kenny looked up from his phone at that, looking incredulous.   
  
"Dude, it's not even been a few hours."  
  
"And this isn't you guys playing it cool after a first date. You're a lot more than that. I think it's fine to say hi."

"He's probably busy"   
  
"Then he'll reply when he's not."  
  
Kenny looked at him for a moment, and sighed.   
  
"Okay fine." and he tapped out something in his phone, before placing it on the table.   
  
"Done." he announced, just as the server returned with their orders.   
  
"So. What was your next plan?"   
  
"Easy. Get you back to Denver."  
  
"Dude,it's not that fucking bad that I need to rush right back."  
  
"I don't think you quite understand the effects it can have dude."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean?" 

Kyle couldn’t relate, but he had one advantage. He’d learned, and studied the subject at school. He’d done the assignments, the research, the homework. He knew what could happen.   
  
"I brought you something." and Kyle reached into his bag and slid over a book.   
  
"What the-you brought me a book? Dude, what have I done to hurt you?"   
  
"Don't be a baby. It's supposed to be a present."  
  
Kyle watched as Kenny eyed the cover.   
  
"Soulmatica: A guide to bonds and links. What the hell?"   
  
"It's a book on soulmating. How it works, what usually happens, effects, all that. It's not everything, but it's a good start. You've got some catching up to do on it all. It might help."  
  
"Dude, you know that our link isn't…normal."  
  
"True. But you don't know what is and isn't normal, because you never learned what was normal. Once you know, you'll be able to figure out the abnormal parts."  
  
"If it can be learned from a book, why the fuck did they bother with classes?"   
  
"Dude, classes gave a chance for questions, feedback and demonstrations. Books are great, but they aren't a simple switch solution. You might wanna document the differences as well."  
  
"Jeez Kyle, you're starting to make it sound like a school project."  
  
"Hey, this is your life."  
  
  
Kenny's phone vibrated, and Kenny picked it up from the table. He gave a smile, tapping out a reply to the person, and then looking up, gave an embarrassed expression that indicated he'd entirely forgotten he'd been with someone. And Kyle was giving him a wry expression. 

“Fuck you Kyle.”

* * *

  
“Hey Kyle.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
They were both lying in Kyle’s room. The house was silent, the only sounds coming from the occasional car driving past outside. Kenny was well acquainted with Kyle’s room couch, having stayed over many times before, and it was an improvement on the floor prior to the purchase of the couch.   
  
Kyle’s room had a familiarity to it that all the guys of their group knew. Growing up, it had been a cycle of staying at each other’s houses, and their families had grown very used to the presence of the five of them in some way, shape or form. If not all together, then usually separated out into small groupings of twos and threes. Kyle and Kenny’s family in particular had grown used to seeing the other with their child, as they grew closer as friends. Kyle was Kenny’s confidant, and someone who he would discuss most things with. There was a reason he’d leaned on Kyle so much this weekend after all.  
  
“What college did you choose?”  
  
Kyle didn’t shift from his position, and from where he was Kenny couldn’t see Kyle’s expression in the darkness.   
  
“Caltech. They offered me a full scholarship for their team. I’m gonna be a Devil.”  
  
“Full scholarship? Fucking nice dude. Also, Caltech Devils? I thought the team was the Beavers?”  
  
“I think they did a revamp. New team captain, new name, new colours.”  
  
“What you gonna major in?”  
  
“Psychology. Minor in Business.”  
  
There was silence for a moment.   
  
“How come?”  
  
“Curious I guess.”  
  
“What about you?”  
  
“I dunno”  
  
Kyle turned around on his bed at this.   
  
“Kenny. How do you not know? It’s getting real close to final decision time. What are your options.”  
  
“I...don’t know?”  
  
“....Kenny”  
  
“Yes Kyle?”  
  
“You’re a fucking idiot.”  
  
“Yeah I know.”  
  
“No, seriously. How in the hell do you not know what your options are?”  
  
“I dunno, I guess mom took care of a lot of it. I just wrote what I was asked to, went to interviews. Didn’t pay that much attention. I didn’t care where I went. I didn’t even know if I wanted to GO.”  
  
“You got letters right?”  
  
“I think so?”  
  
“Dude. You need to read your letters. There’s like...three months, and you need to make a decision, even if it’s not to go. Someone else could use the spaces the colleges might be holding for you dude.”  
  
“Okay dude. I’m sorry for even bringing it up. Geez…”  
  
“You’re so fucking avoidant.”  
  
“No I’m not.”  
  
“Yeah you are. You totally are. In fact, this whole weekend’s theme was avoidance. You booked it because you didn’t wanna deal with thinking about college. And then when you were there, you didn’t wanna deal with linking with Craig, and when you argued, you didn’t wanna deal with trying to fix things, and now you’re here, not wanting to deal with the fact that you’re both separated, and the fact that you still have to decide about college. You, Kenny McCormick, are the king of avoidance.”  
  
Kenny turned on his side, facing away from Kyle.   
  
“See, you’re even fucking doing it right now. You don’t wanna talk about any of this.”  
  
“Kyle, what do you want me to do?”  
  
“Read the book I gave you. Pick a damn college, and then go see Craig. Also, take Butters with you. At least his reasoning for not taking action is lack of travel.”  
  
“....”  
  
“What college is Craig going to?”  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
“You gonna find out?”  
  
“Maybe when the king of mother hens gets off my case, I might.”  
  
Kyle scoffed.  
  
“G’night then.”  
  
“I’m not saying you have to sleep, we can still talk.”  
  
“I know dude. I’m actually tired.”  
  
“Oh. Cool.”  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m sure your boyfriend is still up.”  
  
“He’s not my boyfriend!”  
  
“He’s not?”  
  
“Uh...I dunno. Haven’t really talked about it.”  
  
Kyle laughed quietly in the darkness.  
  
“You’re both fucking idiots.”  
  
“Hey!”  
  
“Night Kenny.”  
  
“Yeah..night.”

And Kenny lay there, his head swimming with thoughts. What now? Why did everything have to be so...complicated? He never wanted…

He turned abruptly, jostling his own thoughts. He didn’t wanna think about any of the things that were slowly creeping up on him. Responsibilities, decisions. He just...wanted to enjoy the summer holidays. And everything around him was conspiring to complicate his life. College, Soulmate links, Craig, saying goodbye to this town, his friends, his family. 

Just...why? He didn’t wanna have to deal with any of that. And airsoft, hanging with the guys, that had been a great distraction. 

The guys…

They didn’t have that long left until they’d no longer be able to call themselves that. Their days as a group were numbered. He didn’t know the exact number, but it counted down day by day nonetheless.   
And...in his happy little limbo, he didn’t have to think about it. If he didn’t take a step in any direction, he didn’t have to forge the path he’d end up on. He liked standing still, not moving forward or back.   
Everyone else seemed insistent he move forward, poking, prodding and jostling. 

Kenny brought his hands up and rubbed at his face tiredly. He couldn’t do this. He didn’t know how everyone else had made their decisions so easily. 

One the one hand, they were all on a platform, and the space was slowly becoming smaller and smaller. And they’d all stepped off the edge and left him. And from the bottom, they’d told him it was fine, to step off. But how could he? But he’d have to, there was barely any space to stand anymore. Eventually, he’d fall off. 

And he knew that if he jumped from the platform, he wouldn’t see his friends at the bottom for very long. They’d wander away. He’d blink and they’d have walked off into the haze of a distance he couldn’t traverse with them. 

And even if he wanted to try to follow them, he’d look down, and see the red string tied around his wrist, that led in an entirely different direction to the one his friends had walked towards. And the choices he had to make had now doubled. 

It wasn’t just about picking a college anymore. It was about picking the right college, and what ‘right college’ meant. Did it mean following his friends? Following his Soulmate? Or would he stand here for so long, that the silhouette of his friends would disappear, and the thread around his wrist would grow taut, and snap. 

He pulled his phone over from the cabinet behind the sofa.

  
KENNY: _You up?_

There was nothing for a moment, for a few moments, and Kenny was just about to return his phone to it’s prior location, when a message popped up. 

**TUCKER:** _Yeah. You okay?_  
**KENNY** : _I have a question_  
**TUCKER** : _Shoot._  
**KENNY** : _...What college are you going to?_

* * *

Kenny traipsed up the stairs. He did not want to do this conversation, but his conversation with Kyle, and then Craig last night had finally cemented the thought that he needed to figure out his options. And he’d at least decided one of them.   
He knocked at the door.

“Come in.”

Kenny opened the door, and his brother looked up at him.

“Kenny?”

“I want to go to college.”

“I thought that was the plan anyway.”  
  
“I wasn’t sure before. But I am now. Plus, I wanna apply to some specific colleges.”  
  
“It's a little late for applications for this year, you should be picking from the options you already chose. Which ones were you thinking?”  
  
“Uh…Caltech, Stanford or Cambridge.” And Kenny watched as Kevin’s eyebrows raised. 

“Kenny...these are some big names. Caltech, Stanford...Cambridge? As in Cambridge in England?”  
  
“Uh, yeah.”   
  
“...What’s your GPA again?”  
  
“3.8”  
  
  
“3.8 what?”  
  
“Ugh, I dunno.”  
  
Kevin was silent for a moment.   
  
“...You’d probably have a shot with those grades. Just about. Cambridge definitely wouldn’t take international students with anything less than 3.7, and I think for some courses they need a 3.85 minimum. You need to find out your specific GPA.”  
  
Kenny resisted rolling his eyes. Okay, so they weren’t 4.0s like Kevin's had been. They weren’t that bad considering he hadn’t cared about which college he went to.   
  
“...You won’t make it this year though. But I’m assuming you’d be okay with deferring for a year. Are you sure you wanna do that? What was the list of colleges mom and dad picked out with you? What interviews did you go to? Did you get any letters back?”  
  
Kenny shrugged.  
  
“I kinda let mom deal with all that.”  
  
Kevin balked at this.   
  
"How? Students have to write letters explaining why they want to join."  
  
"Ah yeah, I remember that. I just wrote something vague."  
  
“Vague? Vague how?”  
  
“Uh, you know ‘I wish to apply to study for this college as I believe that ‘INSERT COLLEGE’ will give me the best opportunity to better myself and reach my future goals blah blah blah.”  
  
“Dammit Kenny, you shouldn’t half ass stuff like that!”  
  
“I didn’t even care if I went or not until now!”  
  
“....Kenny...Why are you suddenly taking an interest in college? Why do you care now? You clearly haven’t put any effort into the process before this, and honestly, it sounds like you don't care either way. Or you didn't. What changed your mind?”  
  
“Uh…”  
  
Kenny really didn’t want to go into any of the 'whys' with his brother. No way. But Kevin was waiting for some kind of answer.   
  
“Well, I’ve got a friend who’s going to those, and I figured it’ll be pretty cool to go with them.”  
  
Kevin sighed again, pinching the space at the bridge of his nose.  
  
“A friend huh…I can suddenly imagine why this has become so important, and you know what, I’ve spent years trying to get you to take this seriously. I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth."  
  
"So, you'll help me?"   
  
"First step…you clearly already applied to some colleges. Wait here."  
  
And his brother stood, leaving the room. Kenny stood there, a little confused at the abrupt departure. Until Kevin returned a few minutes later with a wad of envelopes in his hand, which Kevin then started leafing through.   
  
"Why am I not surprised that mom had all your letters instead of you?"  
  


Kenny stood there, not answering, slightly apprehensive at the large stack that he’d been vehemently avoiding. It was the ultimate symbol of everything he’d been trying to avoid. And he wasn’t allowed to anymore. 

"Dammit Kenny, you haven't even opened these letters."   
  
Kenny shrugged in reply.   
  
Kevin glanced up at the motion.   
  
“You realise that the only reason you’re going to college at all is because mom and dad sorted all this, right?”  
  
Kenny nodded.  
  
“And you realise you’re an adult, right?”  
  
"Yeah, you're disappointed in me, I fucking get it Kevin."  
  
Kevin chose to ignore the statement, instead opening and reading through the letters.   
  
“So. Good news, you-sorry, I mean MOM-already applied to Caltech for you. And you got in from the looks of it. And…well, well, you got into my college. Nicely done…I knew you could...what else.. uh....wow, okay…"  
  


Kevin looked up just then.   
  


"Kenny…seriously, you should definitely have a look through these. I know you have your heart set on one of these three, but…you got into Yale."  
  


Kenny frowned.   
  


“Yale, as in…”

“Yale, as in that prestigious Ivy league college, yes. That Yale.” 

“I don’t even remember interviewing...I mean I’m pretty sure I’d've remembered interviewing for YALE. Why the hell did mom apply for Yale??”   
  


And Kenny thought back to all the boring interviews he’d gone on. There’d been a lot, and they’d blurred into one another. Surely he’dve remembered an Ivy league?   
  


And Kevin handed him the pile, and Kenny rifled through them for the first time as he stood at the door. And he looked through the letters incredulously, before looking up at Kevin, who had an eyebrow raised. 

“I always said you were smart Kenny.”  
  
“Fuck off. You’re the genius of the family, man, the high hoper. You’ve always been that.” Kenny rebutted. Kevin shrugged.  
  
“I’m not a genius. I worked hard.”  
  
Kenny scoffed at this.  
  
“Kenny. I worked hard because I WANTED to go to college. After being adopted, I didn’t want to end up like...them. Wanted to make something of myself. So I worked really, really hard at it. Sleepless nights, cramming, reading until the lines turned blurry. Tests over and over. That wasn’t natural talent or anything. And I applied for Harvard, and didn’t get it, even with 4.0s. It was an...unlucky year for applications. A lot of people did well in the course I wanted.” 

Kevin removed his glasses, folding them and putting them on his desk. 

“You on the other hand. You messed around at school, skipped classes, got into fights, ended up in detention, and still managed to maintain a 3.8 GPA. That’s not as easy as you’re making it out to be. And I noticed that. Mom and Dad noticed that. And we tried to get you to notice that. Hell, your teachers tried to get you to notice that.”  
  
“...And that’s why you were always on my case?”  
  
“I didn’t want you to waste it. Out until all hours of the night, hungover during the most important months of high school. I was…worried you'd mess up your chances. But you didn’t seem to care."  
  
"I didn't…until recently."  
  
"Because of Craig?" Kevin gave him a look that suggested he wasn’t fooled in the slightest.  
  


Fuck. Busted.   
  


“Coming to me with three very specific colleges suddenly. You were pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Sue me. I wanna go to the same college as him. So what?” Kenny muttered, folding his arms and looking at the carpet darkly.   
  


Kevin, seeing Kenny's expression, sighed again, leaning back in his seat. 

"I always wanted you to be into learning. Wanted you to aim higher. I know I came across as tough, or annoying. I… just wanted you to have all your options before deciding if you wanted to throw them away or not. I know having a soulmate is important, but…think about this. Yale Kenny. It's only three years, and you'd have holidays and weekends. You don't have to decide anything now just…think about it.”   
  


In the silence that remained at this sudden moment of softness, Kevin cleared his throat, reaching over for the pile in Kenny's hands again.  
  


“Anyway. You don’t have to defer. You just need to contact the college you want, make sure you still have a place. You’ve left it pretty late, but you still have time.You need to make a choice when you get your results."  
  
  
  


Make a choice.  
  
  
  
  


And later that day, Kenny called both Caltech and Yale. Both were happy for him to proceed if that was his choice. His results had been fine. He just needed to pick one.   
  
  
  


He just needed to pick one  
  
  


Pick one  
  
  


Pick  
  
  


Choose.   
  
  


And he'd agonised over it. Worried about it, pro'd and con'd it, tried to ignore it. He'd thrown the letters in the bin at one point.   
  
  
He was currently face down on his bed, laying still and silence, trying to calm his racing thoughts.  
  


Choose. Make a choice. That was all he had to do. There were only two choices now.   
  
  


Choose.   
  
  
  
He didn't want to!  
  
  
Why the fuck did he mom apply for Yale? Couldn't she have just applied for Caltech? Then he wouldn't have to choose.   
  
Just choose.  
  
"Just fucking choose you dumbass" he growled to himself.   
  
  
Fuck he hated this.   
  


He pulled his phone out of his pocket. 

**KENNY:** _So…turns out I have options._  
**TUCKER:** _For?_  
**KENNY:** _College_  
**TUCKER:** _Any matches?_   
  
  
CHOOSE DAMMIT! Caltech or Yale, Caltech or Yale, Caltech or-  
  
No  
  
Wait  
  
He sat up. 

  
This choice was a lot simpler than he realised. He wasn't actually choosing colleges. Not really.   
  
He was choosing his next three years, what they'd be like.   
  
Craig and Kyle. Or not Craig and Kyle.   
  
  
And suddenly, the choice became a lot easier to make.   
  
  
**KENNY:** _Caltech_  
**TUCKER:** _Any other colleges on your radar?_

  
Kenny lifting his head, looking over at the pile of letters that now sat on his desk. The Yale insignia could be seen even from where he lay. Like it was mocking him.  
  


  
**KENNY:** _Nah. Was really lucky to make Caltech tbh. The other colleges aren't anything exciting._  
**TUCKER:** _So....does that mean...you wanna go Caltech? You didn’t have any other preferences?  
  
_

Kenny glared at the letters. Kenny was so glad Craig wasn’t here to hear his thoughts right now. 

And he'd fucking chosen  
  
  
Definitely.   
  
  
Absolutely. 

  
**KENNY:** _Nah, Caltech’s got a pretty sweet music course I’m into. Plus California <3\.   
  
  
  
_He'd chosen. Couldn't go back now.   
  
  
Could he?  
  


* * *


	2. Conceal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your car is trying to seduce my baby? What kind of intentions does your car have towards my classy lady??”
> 
> “She’s the one looking at my car’s ass.”
> 
> “No way mister. Your car needs to court her properly. I’ll be staying right here to keep an eye on them.”
> 
> “Oh no.”

* * *

##  **CHAPTER TWO**

##  **Conceal**

* * *

  
  
Chapter Two Song (Kenny's): Timecop 1983 feat Primo - My DeLorean  
Chapter Two Song (Craig's): Timecop 1983 - It was only a Dream

* * *

  
Kenny had been half asleep, but fully unable to commit to it. He kept waking up. This fucking sucked.  
It was the threadsnap once again, and for some reason, it was worse at night, when everything was quiet, and he was completely alone. He could feel the gnawing sensation.  
  
He missed Craig so much. More than he ever thought he’d miss a person. And it killed him that he couldn’t solve the problem by going to the motel room next door. So many missed opportunities. He’d had an entire weekend essentially living next to him, and had spent most of the time either avoiding him, or being pissed off at him.  
  
And the worst part? They’d had one night of intimacy. ONE. He honestly felt simultaneously cheated and disappointed in himself. And the threadsnap gnaw was one thing, but there were definitely other...longing sensations he felt.  
  
He reasoned that a two hour drive for a ‘booty call’ was probably ridiculous, but counterargument, was it? Two hours wasn’t that far if it meant a warm bed, a hot sequence of activity, and a smokin’ hot Craig.  
  
And now he was fully awake, any thoughts of sleep immediately chased from his mind, as memories replaced the last remnants away. And he indulged his mind and let it remember, despite the bittersweetness of the activity.  
  
He looked at the clock. 12:03 AM. And he looked at his phone.  
  
  
 **KENNY:** _You up?_  
  
It was a few minutes, but the reply came through with a buzz.   
  
**TUCKER:** _Yeah_  
 **KENNY:** _You’re up late_  
 **TUCKER:** _12 AM isn’t really latte._  
 **TUCKER:** _Late*_  
 **KENNY:** _I can’t argue with your latte logic_ _  
_**TUCKER:** _Perks of friendship with Tweek I guess. So, why are you up this ‘late’?_  
 **KENNY:** _Was sleeping. Now not. You know how it is._  
 **TUCKER:** _...Yeah, it sucks_.  
 **KENNY:** I _have a plan. Let’s move Denver next to South Park. Like, right next to it._  
 **TUCKER:** _Might be easier the other way around. South Park is smaller._  
 **KENNY:** _No hijacking my plan! It’s perfect. Then we’d have the whole summer as neighbours pretty much._  
 **TUCKER:** _We’ll call that plan B_  
 **KENNY:** _Okay, how about...you move to South Park?_  
 **TUCKER:** _For three months?_  
 **KENNY:** _Are you gonna shoot down all my ideas?_  
 **TUCKER:** _Only the bad ones._  
 **KENNY:** _See, this is why I give you nicknames like Asshole and Fucker._  
 **TUCKER** _ **:** Counter idea. You move to Denver._  
 **KENNY:** _For three months?_  
 **TUCKER:** _Touche_.  
 **KENNY:** _Time travel machine? Teleportation device?_  
 **TUCKER:** _Oh yeah. I’ve got a spare one of each of those in my closet._  
 **KENNY:** _If you’re gonna be sassy about it…_  
 **TUCKER:** [ http://gph.is/XJ9S26  
  
  
](http://gph.is/XJ9S26) Kenny laughed. Text Craig was different to talking Craig and thought speech Craig. It was a new dimension of their...whatever they had. He sobered as he felt a pang.  
  
 **KENNY:** _This convo would be so much better face to face. Hell, I’d settle for next door again._  
 **TUCKER:** _I’m not being demoted to ‘boy next door’_  
 **KENNY:** _Asshole next door*_  
  
Texting was fun, but without the sensations, and the laughter feelings, it was very...bland in comparison.  
  
  
 **TUCKER:** _You’re right though._  
 **KENNY:** _About you being an asshole?_  
 **TUCKER:** _About this being better face to face._  
 **KENNY:** _Yeah…_  
 **KENNY:** _Two hours doesn’t seem as far as it did yesterday. Probably even less time at this time of night._  
  
Kenny watched Craig write something, stop, then start writing again. And then stop again. And he waited for him to begin writing again.  
  
 **TUCKER:** _That’s the best idea you’ve come up with so far._ _  
_  
  
Kenny paused. Was that...an invitation? Sure, he’d definitely wanted to, fuck the time, but he hadn’t suggested it, as it seemed rude as fuck.

**KENNY:** _So, does that mean its plan A?  
_ **TUCKER:** _Yup_  
 **KENNY:** _Plan A will probably involve me bringing Leo._  
 **TUCKER:** _It’s fine. I take sadistic pleasure in waking Clyde up._  
 **KENNY:** _There’s a problem with Plan A though._  
 **TUCKER:** _Shoot_  
 **KENNY:** _Adults_  
 **TUCKER:** _….Pretty sure we’re adults Kenny. That seems to be more of a solution to things than a problem._  
 **KENNY:** _I_ _meant parent adults_  
 **TUCKER:** _Yeah, I assumed you meant that._  
 **KENNY:** _...Asshole._  
 **TUCKER:** _Not really an insult these days. Also, parents aren’t back._  
 **KENNY:** _You’re home alone?_  
 **TUCKER:** _Again, adult._  
 **KENNY:** _I’m gonna punch you when I see you._  
 **TUCKER:** _How much time do I have to prepare for that terrifying prospect?_  
  


And there it was. Craig was asking him. And all he was remembering was the last time he’d decided to not ‘go for it’. When he’d been in the hotel room on the second night, and he’d debated going next door. And he’d decided against it back then.  
  
 **KENNY:** _You’ve got 2 hours Tucker, and then I’m coming for you._  
 **TUCKER:** _...Is that before or after the punch?_  
  
Ah fuck. Now he was blushing. Fucking flirty asshole. Kenny McCormick was NOT a blusher, and now this asshole had broken him somehow.  
  
 **KENNY:** _During. OMW._  
  
And Kenny wasted no time in dialling Leo. He had to ring a few times, but eventually, the phone was picked up, and for a moment, all he could hear was sleepiness, and a tired groan, and then a rustling. Finally, Leo spoke.  
  
 _“...Ken? Evrthg ‘kay?”_  
  
"Hey Leo. So, yeah, really sorry to wake you man, but...I'm heading to Denver like, now, and I thought I'd ask if you wanted to come along."

There was silence on the other line. And then a rustling.  
  
 _“You’re going to Denver tonight? Even though we just got back this morning.”_  
  
“Yup.”  
  
More silence. 

_"I'll be ready in twenty minutes. Is that quick enough? I can try and get ready quicker."_  
  
Kenny laughed. 

"Leo, that's more than fine, don't worry. I'll see you in twenty. Also, no idea how long we’ll be staying. Could be a night, might be longer, so yeah, pack shit just in case."  
  
 _“Gotcha. See ya soon Ken.”_  
  
And it was only as Kenny was packed and ready, that he realised he should probably let someone in his family know.  
  
The unfortunate thing was that there was likely to only be one person awake, and it was also the person that would give him the hardest time about it. He had to let someone know. The last time he’d disappeared off somewhere overnight without telling anyone and had only left a note, he’d been majorly chewed out for it. Apparently notes could get lost, or ‘didn’t provide enough context Kenny.’  
  
So, seeing the light still on under the door, he knocked.  
  
“Come in.”  
  
And Kenny pushed it open. As expected, Kevin was still awake, reading on his bed. He looked up at Kenny, taking in his appearance most likely.  
  
“What’s up?”  
  
“Going Denver. You know the ‘telling someone’ rule.”  
  
Kevin put his book down, open so the page wouldn’t be lost.  
  
“You got back from Denver this morning.”  
  
“Correct”  
  
“And you’re going back now?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“And me trying to explain why this is reckless and random is just going to fly over your head, isn’t it?”  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  
Kevin sighed.  
  
“Is this an attempt to delay making a decision?”  
  
That stung for some reason.  
  
“Nope, I made one. Caltech.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
Kenny was taken aback. Kevin wasn’t pushing it, or reprimanding him, or anything. He almost certainly expected a fight over something. But Kevin had picked his book up and continued reading. When he saw Kenny was still at the door, he glanced up again.  
  
“Anything else?”  
  
“Uh...no.” Kenny felt oddly uneasy about how Kevin was being, and something must have shown on his face, because Kevin sighed.  
  
“Have a good trip Kenny. See you when you get back. I’ll let Mom, Dad and Karen know.”  
  
And Kenny left the room, feeling...odd. Kevin was being weird as hell suddenly. And as much as he wanted to burst back into Kevin’s room and ask what the hell was up with him, he didn’t really know what he wanted to...say. Plus, he had somewhere he needed to be, so he left where he stood outside the room, and went down the stairs.  
  
He missed Kevin’s voice speaking quietly to himself,  
  
“There’s no helping him... “  
  


* * *

  
  
Leo was waiting outside when he pulled up outside his house, and as he snuck quietly along the path and into the truck, he kept looking back at his house.  
  
“You gonna get in trouble for this?” Kenny asked as Leo got into the passenger seat.  
  
“It’s fine. I’m used to getting into all kinds of trouble anyway, what’s one more, right?” and he gave a nervous laugh, which made Kenny frown.  
  
“Leo. If this is gonna get you in deep trouble, we don’t have to do this.”  
  
“I appreciate it Ken, but heck, some things are worth getting in trouble for.”  
  
“Fuck yeah.”  
  
And with that, they were gone, leaving any care of ‘sensible’ action in the dust.  
  
“You mind if I put music on, or do you want quiet?”  
  
“Nah, I’m not bothered Ken. Put on whatever.”  
  
  
Kenny didn’t always go out for night drives, but when he did, there was a particular playlist he’d made that was perfect.  
  
 _“Screaming stop signs, staring wild eyes, keep on flashing. Flashing by. And we keep driving into the night, It's a late goodbye, such a late goodbye.”_ Kenny sang along quietly, Leo occasionally joining in on the chorus. And for a while it was night music and companionable silence that came from a long time of friendship, mixed with sleepiness. Eventually, Leo fell asleep, leaving Kenny alone with the music, and his thoughts.  
  
And Kenny was feeling it too. He was feeling that sleepiness creeping up on him. He didn’t want to stop and delay things, but if he was getting tired, it was probably time to get help from the gods.  
  
Obviously, he meant the coffee gods. The only ones who hadn’t fucked him over cosmically. They’d been there for him, and they deserved his worship.

  
  
Yeah, he was thinking nonsense. He needed a coffee. Plus, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to refuel. He loved his baby, but she **was** a gas guzzler. And yeah, he _could_ drive slower, but then what was even the point?  
  
As if sensing his train of thought, a new song kicked into action.  
  
 _“Maybe I could change things, out wandering in the past, or outrun all my demons, if I get in gear and hit the gas”_  
  
His baby was a pricey dame, and high maintenance. People had warned him that it was high upkeep to get a pickup truck. And he was fine with that, because she deserved it. He didn’t mind buying her pretty things, like gas and checkups. She returned the favour with something no one else could.  
  
  
Freedom.  
  
  
 _“But for today I’m gonna drive, content I'm still alive, and let go in the wind, I'm gonna get in, get in.”_  
  
He hadn’t always wanted a truck. When he was young, his main focus was taking care of his family. As a kid, it had been City Work that helped him do that, and well...the pay had been pretty...city. But Kenny had always liked Mr Lu Kim. And he’d been one of the only people to let Kenny work as a kid.  
  
Kenny’s original plan had been to save enough money to get him and his siblings away from their original parents, to somewhere else entirely, where they could live independently. And then...well, things had obviously changed.  
  
His current parents had discovered his money ‘stash’, and he’d expected them to take it away. He’d been an eleven year old, ready to physically fight them in order to protect his hard work. Instead, they’d opened a bank account for him, helped him deposit it, and explained that it was a safer place to keep it. That only he could access it.  
  
He also wasn’t allowed to work anymore (apparently it was ‘unethical’ for a small child to work under the age of 14), but he, Kevin and Karen had all been given allowances, which if he was honest, had been confusing. One, because it was more than what he’d earned in a week at City Wok, and two, because he was being given it for free.  
  
  
People didn’t give money for free. That’s what he’d thought back then. People only gave him money if they wanted something from him, or wanted him to do something. Cartman had often offered him money in exchange for getting him to do something stupid, or admit something embarrassing.  
  
And then this money had come out of nowhere, this...free money. And he’d been suspicious. What was the catch? What did they expect from him in return? Eventually he’d figured he was only going to save it anyway, so even if there was a cost, he’d be able to give it right back.  
  
Eventually, he’d realised this was _normal_ . Parents just...gave their kids an allowance. Stan, Cartman and Kyle had all confirmed this. And okay, sometimes if chores weren’t done, or they were being punished, it wasn’t given that week until they had made reparations, but it was FREE MONEY.  
  
  
So, eventually, after realising that they no longer needed money to escape, after realising that maybe his family was fine here, that Karen was happy, that they had food, clothes, necessities, that he didn’t need to provide that anymore, he’d...relaxed. He’d been able to do things with friends, buy things he wanted.  
  
And when he turned 15, his dad had offered to teach him to drive, offering to pay half for the lessons as long as Kenny was willing to put in the other half.  
  
And the first time he’d driven along a straight, Kenny knew that he fucking loved driving. He’d known nothing about it before now, but it felt _good_ . Felt like he was free, that he could escape anywhere, go do anything.  
  
 _“Time is just a highway, and I’m just taking a detour, no physics can control me, when I'm all revved up and ready to go.”  
_  
  
He wanted that freedom for himself.  
  
  
His ‘squirrelled away’ fund, turned ‘buy things for self’ fund, quickly became his ‘save up for car’ fund.  
  
He remembered the day he’d seen his dream car pull in to be serviced. His dad needed the carburettor on his car checked, and he’d gone along. Only, it hadn’t been a car that had pulled in that day. It had been a pickup truck. It wasn’t the right colour, being bright red in this case, but Kenny had fallen in love instantly.  
  
‘Save up for car’ fund was renamed to ‘Save up for pick-up Truck’ that very day.  
  
And it had been a bitch to save up for. Because it hadn’t been cheap. He’d gotten a job to try and speed things up. When he’d turned 16 he just asked for cash towards his pick up truck fund rather than presents. It was a year of his life where he was pretty sure he’d spent it eating, drinking, sleeping and breathing ‘get pick-up truck’.  
  
And finally, he’d gotten her. She’d been perfect, the right colour, the right model. He’d already known before the test drive, but he took her out for a spin anyway.  
  
  
 _“I want the universe to bend, listen, and you'll hear my engine hum, she's ready for a run._ _I won't deny her that, no car can do what mine can.”_  
  
  
He left with her that day. And now, he faithfully turned his savings towards her maintenance and upkeep, which included their likely stop for gas.  
  
Kenny, returning to the present, tapped his fingers fondly on the steering wheel for a moment to the beat of the song. It was all because of her that they were able to do this. This was why he’d bought her, for those random moments, when you needed to drive 2 hours to Denver in the middle of the night.  
  
  
  
  
“You say it's just a car, and that it ain't got no meaning. But this car right here, this car...is freedom.” He spoke along with the singer.  
  
  
  
It wasn’t the first time he’d serenaded his baby with this song, and it wouldn’t be the last.  
  
  
“Thanks baby…” He murmured quietly as the song faded out, before glancing to a sign that indicated a gas stop was coming up. Perfect.  
  
“Hey Leo…”  
  
Leo mumbled incoherently.  
  
“C’mon sleeping beauty.”  
  
“Wt’s u’ Ken?” He slurred slightly as he half stretched.  
  
“Imma need to stop for coffee.”  
  
  
  
“That’s cool Keeeeeeeen” Leo yawned out Kenny’s name, causing Kenny to grin.  
  
“Clyde’s gonna get a livewire by the time we get there, huh? Your energy is gonna rock his world.”  
  
Leo gave an embarrassed smile.  
  
“You think I need a coffee too?”  
  
Kenny surveyed the sleepy friend of his. Dammit, he even looked adorable when tired, eyes still drooping slightly as if he just wanted to return to sleep.  
  
“Tell you what, I’ll think about it in there.” And he gestured with his head towards the Conoco gas station.  
  
“Okaaay” Leo said around another yawn.  
  
  
By the time Kenny had pulled up and parked, Leo was asleep again. The gas station was relatively quiet, only one other car currently parked up. A car that made Kenny stop.  
  
A Lamborghini Diablo casually sat there. And it made Kenny raise an eyebrow, not because of the make, but the fact that a car that wasn’t street legal was currently sitting in a Colorado gas station. 

  
“Like what you see?” a far too sultry voice asked. And Kenny turned, very taken aback at how he’d been snuck up on.  
  
A male stood there, his dark eyes glinting slightly. Dark hair styled in a way that made Kenny think of familiarity. Did he know this guy?  
  
“I’m hurt Kenny, I recognised you immediately. My father sends his regards. We haven’t...seen you in a while.”  
  
And it clicked, and Kenny relaxed almost immediately as he indeed recognised this person. He offered an easy smile and then glanced over at the car.  
  
“That your car?”  
  
“It is.”  
  
“You realise you’ll get pulled up if you’re driving around in that.”  
  
The person raised a long, elegant eyebrow.  
  
“Why?”  
  
Kenny scoffed.  
  
“Dude, that’s a street illegal car. As in, not allowed to drive it around.”  
  
The man considered his words for a moment, and then smiled.  
  
“Illegal huh? Excellent.”  
  
“Also, that car? I think it’s gonna be pretty obvious without needing that.”  
  
The person grinned, flashing white teeth, his eyes glimmering with the slightest dark red undertone.  
  
“Perhaps.”  
  
“So, where you heading?”  
  
“South park”  
  
“Again? Is it time for another boxing match already?”  
  
The man laughed.  
  
“No. This one is a little more personal. I have some business to attend to before college.”  
  
“Attending college huh? Up here?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“You gonna be in South Park for a while?”  
  
“Most definitely.”  
  
Kenny gave a grin. Things were about to get very interesting in South Park.  
  
“Cool. I won’t drag this out with small talk then. I’m heading off somewhere, but I’ll see you when you get back? Grab a coffee or something.”  
  
“Perfection.”  
  
And with that, the person got into their car, revved it a few times, and pulled out of the gas station, the loud noise eventually fading as the source tore towards South Park. Kenny watched him go, and noted that the sound had woken up Leo, who sat looking around, trying to identify the source. Kenny chuckled as he returned to his truck to fill it up.  
  
Oh, they were all gonna be screwed this summer.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“So, I’m not fussy, but Kyle would have a fit about this stuff. And I’m pretty sure it’s less of a liquid and more of an...almost gel, and I’ll be honest dude, I dunno how they managed it.”  
  
Leo peered into Kenny’s cup.  
  
“Are you gonna drink it?”  
  
  
“Hell yeah I am. Coffee is coffee. I didn’t get you any though. I figured you’d prefer to sleep. Got you this instead.”  
  
And Leo took the proffered cup, and immediately recognised it by scent.  
  
“Aww geez thanks Ken.” And he took a sip of the hot chocolate, ending the experience with a smile.  
  
“That good huh?” And Leo nodded his reply, looking both content and sleepy. Dammit Leo didn’t realise how adorable and cute he was.  
  
“Let’s hope Letterman-Clyde is into the cute sleepy look, right?” And Leo chuckled, looking embarrassed, pink staining the top of his cheeks.  
  
“He’s definitely more cute than I am.” Leo eventually said, the pink spreading slightly. Kenny blinked, stopping the motion of restarting the engine to look over at Leo.  
  
“Dude. No fucking way. I mean, he’s your soulmate and all that, but honestly, I don’t see the Clyde appeal. I’m sure you two have all kinds of heart eyes when you see each other, but there is no way on this planet that there is anyone more adorable than you, apart from maybe Karen, and even then, you’re pretty dang close. Clyde’s just...I dunno, a guy in a letterman jacket.”  
  
“Well, I guess that makes sense. Craig don’t look anything like Clyde after all, so it makes sense you don’t find Clyde all cute and such. I feel the same about Craig. He’s your soulmate, but he...I dunno, always looks either deadpan, pissed off, or smug. I don’t find that very adorable.”  
  
Kenny was speechless for a moment, and he’d felt like it was to have a taste of your own medicine, especially when he wanted to vehemently defend Craig’s attractiveness. And Leo laughed.  
  
“N’aww Ken you should see your face. I didn’t mean anythin’ by it.”  
  
“Look, my bad for poking holes in Clyde, but Craig is waaaaaaay hotter than him. There’s no contest man. Have you not seen Craig’s damn eyes?”  
  
“Well sure I have, but Clyde has nicer ones in my opinion. Less harsh, more...gentle, friendly, ya know? He’s got these cute puppy dog brown eyes that just make ya melt.”  
  
Kenny couldn’t believe this was even a debate. Clyde vs Craig, and Leo was adamant that Clyde was better looking? No way in hell.  
  
“It’s okay Ken, we have different preferences. I like my fellas to not look like they’re about to attack me is all.”  
  
“Craig’s not gonna attack me man.”  
  
“Pretty sure I saw that happen Ken.”  
  
“That was fucking different!”  
  
“Clyde’s not afraid to show his emotions.”  
  
“Yeah, I fucking remember. He showed his emotions all over my t-shirt when we went out. Seriously, the dude started crying outta NOWHERE.”  
  
“Well he was really touched at what you’d said.”  
  
“Be honest Leo, you get pinned against a wall, you look up. Who’s standing there?”  
  
“Clyde.”  
  
“Seriously??”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“Leo, you know I love you dude, but you’re seriously throwing some shade right now.”  
  
“Ken, it’s like you want me to be into Craig.”  
  
“I don’t mean it like that!”  
  
And they continued their banter, laughing at each other and themselves, and they tried to contest between their soulmates. And eventually, when drinks were finished and their banter had reached a stalemate, they eventually drifted off into their own worlds again. Leo’s was dreamland, Kenny, his was on the conversation he’d had in the gas station.  
  
 _He’d decided to call Craig. And true, they’d spoken on the phone before, but this time would be a little less antagonistic._ _  
__  
__“Hey”  
_ _  
__Kenny ignored the little twinge he felt at hearing Craig.  
_ _  
__“Uh, hi there.”  
_ _  
__“You okay?”  
_ _  
__  
__“Stopped at gas station for coffee because tired and driving. Leo’s falling asleep here. Do I get him coffee, or deliver him to Letterman all sleepylike? I know it’s a weird question, but honestly, you know Clyde better than I do, and I reaaaally don’t wanna go into detail with Leo about whether they’ll be doing anything to warrant needing to stay up late.”_ _  
__  
__There was a pause for a moment._ _  
__  
__“Clyde’s honestly just as tired. I’d say let them sleep.”_ _  
__  
__“Okay, cool. I’ll just get myself coffee then.”_ _  
__  
__“Good plan.”_ _  
__  
__“Yeah, don’t wanna damage my baby by falling asleep at the wheel.”_ _  
__  
__“Yeah. Make sure you get here safe.”_ _  
__  
__Kenny smiled, despite knowing that Craig couldn’t see it._ _  
__  
__“Don’t worry, I’m gonna be jacked up on coffee in no time.”_ _  
__  
__Craig gave a quiet laugh, and Kenny suddenly really, really wanted to be there already._ _  
__  
__“Alright, well I’m hanging up. Can’t drive and talk.”_ _  
__  
__“See you soon Kenny.”_ _  
__  
__“Bye.”_ _  
__  
_Kenny ignored the lump in his throat as he recalled the phone call. The gnawing was worse now, he could feel it so profoundly. And it hurt, even the knowledge that it would be gone in just under an hour wasn’t enough to stop the sensation.  
Was this going to be his life now? Was he going to spend his days not in Denver feeling like this? Summer was a long, long time. Just under 12 weeks.  
  
Could they hack it for 12 weeks? Either back and forthing, or dealing with this awful feeling?  
However long they stayed in Denver (which was most likely going to be dictated by Leo’s parents and when they demanded for him to come back.), it wouldn’t be enough.  
  
 _“We were the monsters and fire-breathers, we were the quiet sunrise leavers, you were a good guy what could I do? I was a lost boy when I met you. Hold me til I'm not lonely anymore”_ _  
__  
_He wouldn’t say this to Craig (mostly because it sounded lame as fuck), but he just wanted to be by Craig’s side, all the time. Ugh, that sounded lame even to him. He rolled his eyes at himself. What kind of ridiculousness was he thinking up? He’d done fine without a soulmate before, he was pretty sure they’d manage just fine. Right?  
  
 _“I was a lost boy, a lost boy, I was a lost boy when I met you, I was a lost boy, a lost boy. I was a lost boy.”_ _  
__  
_Listening to the song, he frowned. No, he wasn’t lost before Craig right? He’d had a good life, good friends, great family. He hadn’t wanted for anything. True, he also hadn’t bothered looking for anything else, he didn’t know what he wanted, and he was unable to make decisions like a functioning adult. But that didn’t make him lost.  
  
 _“I was a lost boy when I met you.”_ _  
__  
_This song was stupid. He reached over, changing the track.  
  
 _“Out of nowhere. When I looked back, I saw you, come out of nowhere. When I,stayed back, you came out of nowhere.”_ _  
_  
That wasn’t entirely untrue he supposed. Craig had appeared out of nowhere, at the most inopportune time. If they hadn’t gone airsoft, what would have happened exactly? How did soulmates meeting even work? Would they have met at another time, further down the road? Or was that their one slot?  
  
Or, did Kenny not really have a choice in the matter. Kenny was going to go airsoft that weekend, so he was always going to meet Craig there. Was it really ‘out of nowhere’ after all, or was it preplanned? Had either of them really had a choice?  
  
What if Craig wasn’t into blonds with issues? What if he liked redheads that were normal and level headed, and he was making the best out of a bad decision? How much of this was really them? He’d told Leo that Craig was attractive to him, but Leo talking about Clyde in the same way made him wonder.  
  
Okay, he’d already thought about this. And he’d recognised that they did like each other, at least physically before they’d linked. That much was established. But what if everything after that was just something that came with the part and parcel of soulmateism?  
  
  
What if a soulmate wasn’t someone that matched and complimented you, but was someone who learned to live with your flaws because the mystical magical whatever made it that way?  
  
What if they hadn’t linked? Would Craig...still like him, with all his weird ways? Would Craig have been concerned at a crying, screaming laughing Kenny were he not already predisposed to help him?  
  
And how would Kenny ever really know? He wouldn’t. They were linked now, and it could be that their actions made the other miserable, but they weren’t able to comprehend that, because the ‘mystical link’ told them that wasn’t the case.  
  
He wished he’d been able to choose Craig by himself, without it being dictated. He would’ve liked to have gotten to know Craig over time, learned about who he was, what he liked, what he hated, his tells and his habits. It was why he hated the L word.  
  
  
Love took work, it took effort, it took sacrifice. Linking with someone seemed like a cop out. And there was no way he was going to tell Craig he loved him just because that was expected of their bond. He didn’t know how he felt. He found Craig hot, they had a camaraderie, they had frankly _fantastic_ sexual chemistry, they liked to beat one another up apparently.  
  
What did he actually know about Craig beyond that?  
  
Craig liked his hat. Craig was protective about people he cared about. Craig quietly cared an incredible amount about his friends. Craig was one way outwardly, but another inwardly. Craig was...stronger than him (and it hurt his pride to admit that one). Craig had a hard head. Craig could make a _mean_ ice wall when he wanted people to stay out. Craig’s laughter was like bubbles to his soul. Craig’s soul was like a calm and deep lake. Craig was **much** better at thought speak than him. Craig had soft hair. Craig had really sensitive ears. When Craig blushed, the tips of his ears went red. Craig was quiet, but dominant. Craig was surprisingly affectionate, but in different ways, depending on whether public or private.  
  
Kenny found that his worries were fading away as he thought of what he knew of Craig. The thoughts were calming, and they kept his mind from overthinking as he drove. And he focused on that until the lights of Denver came into view.  
  
  
 _“I'm leaving it all behind, running in the night with you, I won't let you get away again. We can see it through to the end. But whatever we do. I'm running in the night with you.”_ _  
__  
_“Hey, Leo.”  
  
A murmured groan was all he heard in reply.  
  
“Clyde’s streaking across the street in front of us.”  
  
Leo sat up so quickly he almost smacked his head on the roof.  
  
“What?” Kenny laughed at his expression.  
  
“I’m kidding. We are in Denver though.”  
  
And Leo’s panicked expression calmed as he looked around them.  
  
“I like Denver.” He murmured as he looked out of the window. Kenny nodded in agreement, tapping a beat that didn’t go with the melody of the current song. It was too erratic.  
  
“Me too.”  
  
And they took a moment to take in the place that they’d only said goodbye to this morning. Well, yesterday now.  
  
“So. Fun fact. I have no idea where Clyde or Craig live. Do you have Clyde’s number?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“Mind calling and finding out for us?”  
  
Leo was already on the case even before Kenny had finished talking.  
  
  
“Hey, it’s me……..yeah, it’s really something isn’t it?.....Really?.....Wow that’s…..So, we’re here….yeah, Kenny got us here fast…But we don’t know where to go...Oh, okay....so….can you send me that?....Okay, we’ll be there real soon…...I love you too...bye…..”  
  
  
Kenny resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the ending declaration. It was none of his business after all, and Leo didn’t have to share the same belief he did. Still. Gross.  
  
“You got it?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“Cool. Mind putting it into the gps?”  
  
And Leo tapped in the postcode.  
  
“Clyde said he’d meet me at Craig’s.”  
  
“He doesn’t want me to drop you off?”  
  
“I think he wants to say hi and do the group thing for a few minutes.”  
  
“Fair enough.”  
  


* * *

  
Kenny pulled up outside the house at 2:17 AM. It was pretty late, and most of the houses on the street were dark. Kenny looked up at the house he'd parked by. He and Leo had shared a moment when they’d felt the threadsnap fix itself. They’d both known. He'd felt the blissful relief that was the threadsnap repair itself. And fuck if it didn't feel better than he remembered. He no longer wanted to tear his own hair out in frustration. The threadsnap was like…nails down a chalkboard, but constantly. And right now, this was the metaphorical equivalent to sweet silence.  
  
In a literal sense, it was far from. The feelings of realisation that weren't his were seeping into him, and he felt a greeting that he struggled to formulate into words. 

  
Kenny had felt the return of thoughts and feelings that weren’t his own once more. And he felt so relieved that they were back.  
  
Kenny had struggled to converse with Leo and Craig and drive. But he didn’t care. Nothing was a biggie at this moment.  
He’d asked Leo about his link, what he could feel. Apparently the vaguest sensations of each other. When he’d probed, Leo had looked at him confused, so he’d dropped it. He really needed to read that book Kyle had given him.  
  
It was only once he’d pulled up, and he found himself still struggling to understand Craig fully, that he realised. He'd reverted back to only getting thoughts/feelings rather than words from Craig.  
  
Great. He’d gone backwards. Barely a day and he was back to this. 

_I can't hear what you're saying. Just a heads up._

Feelings of bemusement, and confirmation flooded through him, and Kenny wondered why the hell he struggled with this so much. 

  
And as they got out of the truck, the door opened, and a letterman shaped blur passed by him and collided with Leo, as Clyde picked Leo up and hugged him. Kenny looked over at the door to see Craig looking at him, and then raise a questioning eyebrow at Clyde.  
  
 _I’m not doing that. I promise you I am NOT doing that_ _  
__  
__[Heavy amusement. Affection]_ _  
__  
_Oh gods, he’d forgotten how good this felt.  
  
Craig’s greeting was far more subdued, but no less affectionate in intent. He gestured to Kenny with his head, a soft, half smile on his features, and while the other two were busy, Kenny made his way over, and Craig wasted no time in wrapping both arms around his waist and pulling him close into a hug. And Kenny was engulfed by everything that was Craig. And he had things to add to his list.  
  
  
Craig gave hugs that made him feel...wanted. Craig’s scent reminded him of...well, Craig. It was a difficult thing to describe really. If anyone asked, he'd say it was a scent that was uniquely Craig. Craig’s fingers were long, and they liked to idly stroke where they were placed, in this scenario near the lower part of his spine. Craig was all kinds of intoxicating when in close proximity.  
  
And knowing that Leo and Clyde were still distracted, Kenny wanted to be bold. He’d frankly, acted like a nervous little virgin every time they’d interacted. And he didn’t want Craig to think that was who he was.  
  
Which is why after kissing the side of Craig’s neck, he nipped at it. He’d missed this asshole, and he wanted him to know it. And the grip around him tightened in response.   
  
_Hi_ he offered as a greeting, after realising now was probably not the time to continue down the path he’d started. As fun as that would’ve been. _  
__  
__Hi_ _  
__  
__Hey, I heard that._ _  
__  
__Good._ _  
__  
_Ah, so he’d switched back to singular words for ease of understanding. And if Kenny suddenly felt a big swell of affection towards this...person of his, he didn’t admit it. Even if there was no point in hiding it from this person, as he already knew the moment Kenny did.  
  
And Kenny pulled back from the hug slightly, to look over at the other two, Craig easily adjusting so that Kenny was able to face away, but was now in a reverse hug, with Craig leaning his cheek slightly against Kenny’s hair.  
  
Leo and Clyde, hands firmly clasped, were walking from the truck to the front door. Clyde looked too Kenny, with eyes that honestly looked a mix of elated, and if he was about to start crying.  
  
 _Do not let him hug me. He won’t let go, and he’ll start crying, and then I’ll have to spend the evening trying to pry him off._ _  
__  
_[Amusement] And the arms around him tightened in reassurance.  
  
“Kenny, my dude...I owe you for this.”  
  
“Don’t worry man. I was heading up here anyway. If I can bring Leo along, I will.”  
  
“You...I don’t even know how we didn’t get along at the beginning.”  
“I think it was something to do with being ‘South Park redneck scum’ from a ‘town that is the shitstain on the state’, with a ‘shit basketball team’.” Kenny said, making sure his tone was obviously lighthearted and teasing. He wasn’t to poke fun at the things Clyde had said, but not in an accusing way. He didn’t want Clyde to feel bad.  
“Ah shit, I really said that didn’t I?” And Clyde looked embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.  
“I mean, you probably weren’t too far off with the redneck part, we got a lot of those in South Park. But seeing as the two of you bagged the two most southern sounding teenagers in the town, I’m suspecting you secretly have a thing for rednecks. Plus Kyle would kill me if I didn’t state that ‘our basketball team is awesome and would totally kick your basketball team’s asses’, or something like that.”  
  
Clyde burst out laughing at that statement, and Leo gave Kenny a grateful smile.  
  
 _Nicely done._ _  
__  
__He can’t cry if he’s laughing, Amiright?_ _  
_  
“So, how long are you here for?” Clyde asked carefully. Leo looked to Kenny.  
  
“I uh, didn’t really think that far forward. At least a night, as long as Craig doesn’t make me sleep in the truck or anything.”  
  
“You do that pretty well all by yourself.” Craig spoke up.  
  
“Well I dunno. I didn’t bring your cap, so you might get all mad at me.”  
  
Clyde mock gasped.  
  
“You didn’t bring it back?? Why? Do you have a death wish?”  
  
“I didn’t wanna give it back. I like it.” Kenny shrugged.  
  
“Guess you **are** sleeping in the truck.” Leo said with a straight expression.  
  
“Don’t worry Kenny, I got you. Worst comes to worst, I have a sofa at mine. You’re free to stay there.” Clyde offered.  
  
“You know what, that’s not a bad call…” Kenny considered mockingly.  
  
Craig shrugged.  
  
“It’s fine. As long as the truck stays here. I think my car wants to hook up.”  
  
  
  
“Your car is trying to seduce my baby? What kind of intentions does your car have towards my classy lady??”  
  
Clyde was now sniggering.  
  
“She’s the one looking at my car’s ass.”  
  
And Kenny looked to where he’d parked behind the SUV. Dammit, he was right.  
  
“No way mister. Your car needs to court her properly. I’ll be staying right here to keep an eye on them.”  
  
“Oh no.” Craig said with deadpan sarcasm, Clyde’s sniggers becoming chuckles.  
  
“You...are both so _weird_ . Starting to see why you work.”  
  
“Says the person who linked with someone over talk of ice cream and cake.” Kenny countered.  
  
“And what’s wrong with that?”  
  
“Cars are better than ice cream and cake.”  
  
[Agreement]  
  
 _Knew you’d agree with me, babycakes.  
_  
  
Clyde on the other hand, looked scandalised.  
  
“You take that back. Lies and treason!”  
  
“Dude, no way.”  
  
“What’s that metal thing got that ice cream hasn’t?”  
  
“Uh, my ‘metal thing’ doesn’t melt after twenty minutes. That’s a pretty fucking good start. Plus she can get me, and let us not forget, LEO, anywhere, at any time of night.”  
  
Clyde opened his mouth as if to argue, and then shut it.  
  
“I..can’t argue with that point.” And he looked over to Leo, who was attempting to hide a yawn behind his hand unsuccessfully.  
  
“You win for now, blondie, but we will continue this debate, when I don’t have a sleepy boyfriend who needs taking care of.”  
  
“Fair enough Letterman.” Kenny replied. And Kenny could feel Craig’s exasperation.  
  
 _Hey, if he calls me blondie, then I get to call him Letterman, fair is fair.  
_ _  
_He felt a grudging acknowledgement and agreement of his point.  
  
“Anywho, we can probably all agree you’re staying here tonight right? We can figure out the rest tomorrow. Kenny, Craig, later.” And he slung an arm over Leo’s shoulders. Leo looked behind him, offering a wave, which Kenny returned. And they watched until their two friends had turned into the house that it turned out, wasn’t that far at all.  
  
And Kenny leaned back against Craig and sighed.  
  
“They’re totally gonna have sex. I should’ve gotten Leo coffee after all. Poor guy.”  
  
Craig didn’t reply. Not even thought sense wise. All Kenny felt was a general sense of contentment. Kenny reluctantly pulled away so that he could turn around. This required some investigating.  
“Hey Tucker, did you fall as-”  
  
He was being kissed. Without warning or preamble. And it was only now that he could feel the underlying intention to do so, that Craig had cleverly hidden under ‘contentness’. Clever bastard. And Kenny retaliated by biting on Craig’s lip, inviting him to deepen the kiss. Because hey, this was amazing and all, but they could do better. Tongues were required. And they passed the next few moments, on Craig’s doorstep, reacquainting themselves with each other’s mouth. Because that was the polite thing to do, right? It wasn’t gentle by any means, but fuck, Kenny hadn’t seen this guy in a whole….15 hours. Screw being gentle.  
  
Screw...yeah, that was a great suggestion. They should totally, absolutely screw.  
 _  
_And despite his agreement to that statement, it was Craig that pulled away. And Kenny was extremely proud of himself for holding back what would have been a childish sound of want and disappointment. Maybe he was becoming an adult after all.  
  
“I sincerely hope you’re an adult, otherwise we did some very illegal things yesterday evening.” Craig commented with an air of dry wit. Kenny laughed at the statement.  
  


“Wanna see my ID to prove it?” He teased, and raised an eyebrow expectantly.  
  
“Really? Okay dude.” And he fished his driver’s licence out of his pocket.  
  
“..March 22nd. Cute picture.”  
  
“Waitwaitwait. You just wanted to know my birthday? You could’ve just asked.”  
  
“Nope. I wanted to check which one of us was older. And see your picture.”  
  
“So, who’s older.”  
  
[Smug]  
  
  
“Fucking…prove it.” Kenny muttered as he put his id away.  
  
Craig shrugged, pulling away to step into the house.  
  
“My id is upstairs.”  
  
“Oooh, how convenient. I see how this is going. You’re gonna invite me up to ‘look at your id’, and then once I’m up there, you’re gonna seduce me and steal my virtue. I see your tricks buster.”  
  
“So, does that mean you’re coming?” Craig looked over his shoulder.  
  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  


* * *

  
  
So, it had taken them a while to actually get around to seeing Craig’s id. In fact, Kenny only remembered after he lay in bed, waiting for Craig to come back from the bathroom. Kenny had claimed a section of Craig’s bed, and was currently struggling with ignoring all thoughts from his head that the bed had Craig's scent and it was oh so appealing and he didn’t want to leave it and oh god he was turning into a sappy bitch wasn’t he? 

Although, it wasn't as appealing as the body that slid into bed next to him just then, arms around him, pulling him closer, Craig tucking his head into the crook of Kenny's neck. 

Fuck. This felt...so good. He was actually a little worried at how good it felt. Was it real? Or was it soulmate magic?  
  
“Kenny.”  
  
Kenny met Craig's eyes. Craig looked tired, his hair messy and askew from where he'd clearly been doing...well, him. It was still so very weird to him that they’d started off fighting, and now they were here. Because of their Soulmarks. And it was magical soulmate..dust or whatever. 

"You think too much." was all Craig said with a soft, unguarded expression. Kenny felt the amusement and endearment, and he offered a crooked smile in response.

"Wonder if that means you think too little." Kenny countered, his tone playful. Craig scoffed, and then removed an arm, reaching over towards his bedside cabinet.  
  
Kenny saw something in front of his face.  
  
“Here.”  
  
And Kenny reached up with a hand to take the ID.  
  
“January 25th….dammit, you were telling the truth. I gave up my virtue for nothing.”  
  
“At least you had a good time from the sounds of it.”  
  
“...Well now I’m de-virtued AND embarrassed.”  
  
And if Kenny felt a shiver down his spine when Craig laughed, he ignored it. Because it was just soulmate shivers.  
  


* * *

  
  
They'd sat up a lot of the night, alternating between talking, bickering, and other activities. Kenny could officially add “Craig had very sensitive ribs” to his list. Kenny was also frustrated. He had tried to talk between their link, but for some reason, he was still only getting feelings in response. So for now, they spoke out loud for the most part, and Kenny tried to assign the feelings that came with the words into actual words. Again.  
  


"California's gonna be great. No more fucking snow."

  
"What’s wrong with snow?" 

"I like warm weather. Once went Hawaii for a holiday. It was the best place ever. That place is paradise. Me and Leo are considered ‘Natives’" 

  
"...As in...Polynesian?" Kenny laughed at the bemused expression. 

  
"No. There’s this weird thing, where tourists go there every year, buy places there, and there’s this card, the "Mahalo Rewards Card" that gives you discounts because you’re ‘Native’. I had to take Leo there when I was 9 because he was angry and lashing out, and his parents said he needed his ‘Hapanoa’ in Hawaii, but for some reason didn’t go with him. I went to the airport to bring him back, but..he was sitting there crying, because they wouldn’t let him on the plane, and the staff wouldn’t let him on the plane without me. I agreed, and we ended up in Hawaii.”  
  
“So, you accidentally went on holiday?”  
  
  
“Sorta. The first part was a holiday, and then there was an...issue with natives vs the coast guards. I fucked up my trials, met Elvis, saved the day with alcohol, saw a chick with the _nicest_ boobs, and after helping prevent a war, Leo became ‘native’ and I was made honourary native. The rest of the trip was pretty chill. We got pretty drunk, danced, swam around the shallows, all that kinda stuff. I even wrote letters to the guys back home while there.”  
  


" ….I have a lot of questions about that statement. So many.”

"Yeah…bit weird, right?"  
  
"Did it help Leo at least?"

  
"Hell yeah it did. I did a great job of cheering him up. He started off so angry and sour, and by the end of the holiday, he was smiling and dancing. I think we have a vid of us dancing [somewhere](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5uf7wRjIY)…rule one Tucker. Things need to be fixed with someone? Apparently Hawaii is the answer."

"Dare I ask where you learned that?" 

"Home Ec obviously."

"You took home ec?" 

"Yeah. I sucked at it at first, got moved to shop class cos _'my cooking was unsatisfactory, my sewing skills were below average, and apparently the odds of me marrying a nice, rich man in the future weren't good'_ . But fuck that, I wanted to learn home ec. So I practiced, and got good before next year's class. Plus it's a lot easier to say _'I can't make love to you until we get a king sized bed'_ once I realised that the only reason most people couldn't understand me was because of my parka."  
  
“Parka?”  
  
“Yeah, I wore this old orange parka as a kid. And it was cold, so I used to wear the hood really tightly around my head, and all anyone could hear was muffled noises. The guys knew what I was saying, but most people were a little confused. And I hated the thing.”  
  
“Why did you wear it?”  
  
“Ah...that’s a heavy topic. Mind if we skip that for tonight?”  
  
Kenny absolutely did not want to talk about either his adoption from a poor, white trash family, or the..other thing. Nope. He’d keep that under lock and key.  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“What was it like growing up for you?”  
  


* * *

  
  
Craig had to consider the question for a moment. And work very hard to keep his thoughts clear of anything that might reveal what growing up was really like. It wasn;t really the sort of thing he wanted to...reveal.  
  
“...Pretty standard childhood. Parents, school, friends.” There, that sounded generic enough. If he sounded boring, then that was fine. He just wanted to avoid going into that.  
  
“Sounds like we had similar upbringings.”  
  
  
 _I can’t go into it. I can't tell him...yet._ _  
__  
__  
_Craig knew Kenny was glossing over something, but he wasn’t going to push it. It was Kenny’s business, just like his was his own. They weren’t obliged to reveal anything to the other, and Craig...was nowhere near ready to tell Kenny how he’d grown up.  
  
 _Coughing up blood, covered in blood, beard bloodied, teeth red, and still, this person was grinning at him. A bloodied smile._

 _“You did good Tucker. Real good. You might actually survive here…”  
_ _  
__Same beard, same grin, this time without the blood. But a hand on his shoulder.  
_ _  
__“Keep fighting Tucker. It’s the only way you’ll survive this.”_ _  
__  
_Craig shoved the thoughts out of his mind, No, he wasn’t going to do this right now. Especially not with Kenny around.  
  
Luckily, Kenny was too drowsy to catch his lack of response, and had carried on talking of things less private, slowly getting quieter, and drowsier with his replies. Craig would respond to each one, all the while running fingers through Kenny’s hair, before the last, almost whispered reply took him into sleep. 

Craig, continuing to run fingers through his hair, wondered how he was ever going to broach this subject. It was heavily buried, but eventually, Kenny would get better at this, and he’d find out something. Craig always knew that someone would come along one day, would link with him, and there’d be a risk of his secrets being spilled. He just..didn’t know what to do about it, now that it had happened.  
  
Kenny stirred, but only to turn and drape an arm over Craig, before returning to stillness. The clock on his cabinet read 06:02, and were his blackout blinds not down, Craig would be able to see the sun rising from his window. Many a time in the past he'd been caught by that trap, forgetting that he should close the blinds before going to sleep.  
  


It was an odd thought that in a few months he wasn't going to be waking up here. He'd be waking up somewhere new and unknown, maybe in a location where the sun wouldn't be waking him up. 

He wouldn't hear the sound of his dad getting up and lumbering heavily down the stairs, or his mom following and knocking on his door for school. He'd no longer have 'middle finger wars' with his sister over the breakfast table. 

No more picking up the group and heading to school together. 

It was odd how something like school, the thing that made him get up at 6 everyday, caused a sudden pang. 

The arms now around him tightened, and he glanced down. Kenny looked to be asleep, but his guess was proved incorrect quickly enough when Kenny sleepily pulled him closer. 

_Got… whole… summer_

_Yeah. I know…_

_Don't..b….ad_

Kenny's thoughts puttered out in Craig's mind as he fell back into sleep, causing Craig to smile. So cute. Tough, unpredictable, cute. And his.  
  
  
  
After a long battle, he got to keep Kenny. 

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  



	3. Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...Craig has hair the same colour as yours. Eyes are different though."
> 
> "How so?"
> 
> "Yours are red. His are...perfect."
> 
> "...I didn't realise perfect was a colour."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, this is a long one, and it has a LOT of stuff happening. I was going to divide this into two chapters, but it flowed better as one. Just a forewarning, it's an event heavy chapter.
> 
> Also, I've added a gorgeous fan-art done by the marvellous and talented Magentapint/Gaille, showing the 'spider and the fly'/Damien and Kenny scene from this chapter (see end of the chapter). Please head on over to https://magentapint.tumblr.com/ to check out all the other beautiful pieces of work there. Honestly, this stuff is GOLD. 
> 
> I'm so overwhelmed by how perfectly the piece encompasses the scene written. Thank you again for your talented portrayal of these boys of ours.

* * *

##  **CHAPTER THREE**

##  **  
Snap  
  
  
**

* * *

**  
  
Chapter Three Song (Craig’s):** Woodkid - Run Boy Run  
 **Chapter Three Song (Kenny’s):** Lisa OR Ronan Hardiman - Siúil a Rúin  
**Chapter Three Song (Damien’s):** Blameshift - The Enemy You Need (male vocal version)  
  


* * *

**_Notes: [ ]_ ** _around thoughts indicates what a character is thinking and the other person can pick up, but isn't directed at the other person as part of a conversation. Craig does this a lot with Kenny, where he can hear Kenny's thoughts out loud, but those thoughts aren't directed at Craig as conversation._

* * *

**_Screams. Sprinting up the stairs. Strangers standing over recognisable bodies. Choking on the sight, being heard, strangers turning, trying to run from strangers, caught._ **

**_Death?_ **

**_No, plans._ **

**_"He'll do instead."_ **

**_Dark tunnel, damp, cold. Grazing shoulder on wall. Hurts. Bars. Locked away._ **

**_"Another kid...he won't last long here then."_ **

**_"Don't bother feeding him, it's a waste of energy."_ **

**_"When's his first?"_ **

**_Passing out from blood loss._ **

**_Being slapped. An old man shaking him._**

**_"Don't sleep. With a head wound like that, it's dangerous. Sit up boy. What's ya name?"_ **

**_"...Craig. Craig Richmond."_ **

**_"Right. First rule. Don't tell people ya real name here. We'll call you something else. You look like a...Tucker. Got that boy? That's your name in here."_ **

**_"...Yes."_ **

**_"What's your name?"_ **

**_"....Tucker."_ **

" _ **Good lad. Now, do ya know how to fight?"**_

**_Blood, jeering, disorientation. Sounds ringing in his ears. He's going to die._ **

**_No_ **

**_He needs to survive. He will survive._**

**_A cracking sound. Of bone. Not his. Blood gushing. Also not his. Taking the opportunity to attack. No mercy. Need to survive._ **

**_Thudding sound. Silence. Cheers. Led through the hallway. Metal screeching._ **

**_"Well, well Tucker. Looks like ya won't be dying today after all. Might actually be something there worth teaching."_ **

**_It changes. Bloody grin, dripping into a frayed beard, a rattling laugh._ **

**_"You'll be going the rest of the way alone."_ **

**_Shaking of head._ **

**_"Yes you will. One of us is making it out of here alive."_ **

**_Dropping to knees. Hand on bloodied shoulder._ **

**_"...Don't ya be sad now. Idyut boy, getting sad over an old man like me when ya should be running."_ **

**_Shaking head._ **

**_"...There's a reason I gave ya a new name. And ya should know. Ya got a right. It was ta protect ya. Ya last name is a dead giveaway. They would've killed ya if they'd known... That name is dangerous in the wrong crowds, boy. Git rid of that name while you're a pup. You're not strong enough to deal with the implecaytions of that name."_ **

_**Scared nod. Silent crying.** _

**_**"Ya know why** I took a fondness to ya boy? Ya reminded me of my boy. Killed him when they came for me. My wife, and my boy both. That was years ago. Ya would've been about the same age if he were alive now."_ **

**_A wheezing, rasping sigh that ends in a cough._**

**_"Ya shouldn't have ended up in here Tucker. They always come for the parent, not the child. Ya daddy did something unforgivable, so that they'd take ya instead of him."_**

**_"Ya daddy took the coward's way out. Don't ya ever do that Tucker. Ya make sure you have the back of those ya care about. Stick by 'em."_ **

**_Silent tears. No sounds. Not safe yet. A shaking hand with a bundle._ ** **_  
_** **_“This is what ya need. A new life for ya. Cost a pretty penny. Go out there with this. Ya’ll find safety there. It'll get ya away from here.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Hesitance. Footsteps in the distance._ **

**_"Go on Tucker. Get going. Before they get here."_ ** **_  
  
_**

**_Shaking of the head. A wheezed laugh._ **

**_"Tucker. Ya not supposed to take my advice until after I'm dead. Leave me be now, and git!"_ **

**_Reluctance._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“I’m a goner Tucker. Ya need to go or they’ll catch ya. Run boy, run!”_ **

**_Running, can’t stop, slipping, falling. Pain. Get up, up, running, stumbling,_ **

**_outside, night, rain. Burning up. Keep running, run faster. Can't run anymore, too hot, tired. Something wrong. Floor is cold and wet._ **

**_"Is that…?"_ **

**_"Oh my god, it's a boy!"_ **

**_"Is he dead?"_ **

**_"Phone an ambulance!"_ **

**_Hands, touching, on forehead._ **

**_"Can you hear me?"_ **

**_  
_** **_“What’s your name?”_ **

**_Vision fading._ **

**_Sitting up in bed. White, sterile. Woman with a clipboard asking him questions. Birthday, name._ ** **_  
  
_**

**_"T-Tucker."_ **

**_Cold, teeth chattering. Realisation._ **

**_"C-Craig"_ **

**_"Craig? Craig Tucker?"_ **

**_Unintended. But it works._ **

**_Nods._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Where are your parents Craig?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_No answer._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Eavesdropping_ **

**_  
_** **_“He’s a John Doe. Can’t find a record of a Craig Tucker. No parents.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Distrust, Unsure. Police._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Mind if we ask you a few questions Craig?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Silence_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“...Those are some nasty wounds. Mind telling us where you got them from?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Trophies. Signs he survived. Signs he won._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Craig, where are your parents?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Silence._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Are you able to talk?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Police give up. Leave._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Eavesdrop_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Can’t get a word out of him. We’re gonna need you to call child protection services until we can figure this out.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Which state?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Rustling sounds._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“He had this on him. Looks like he’s from Denver, Colorado.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Never been to Colorado before._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“...Hopefully they’ll be able to find out more.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Alone in hospital bed. Nighttime. Jumping at every noise. Closing eyes, seeing blood mixed with grin, crawling up his bed…_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Remember Tucker. It’s a fucking tough life. People don’t give a shit, especially in this business. Want my advice? Get the fuck out while ya can."_ **

**_"-even if it hurts inside, don’t show it. That’s how they get ya."_ **

**_"Keep fucking telling yaself, it could always be worse.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Tucker. It’s a fucking tough life.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Tucker. I’ve told ya a lot tonight. And I’m on my last legs now, I can feel it. But, ya were always good at the game, always took ma advice, even if most of it was bullshit. But if ya only remember one thing, remember, and take this to heart, especially when the world fights ya, and pushes ya down, tries to keep ya head low to the ground. When everything is at its worst, and ya can’t ignore it anymore. Just tell yaself…"_ **

**_“…when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“Run boy, run!”_ **

**_"RUN!"_ **

  
  
  


  
Craig jumped, sitting up abruptly, his breathing heavy and panicked as he searched the room for a threat, tense and alert. Ready to fight, to kill whoever to survive.  
  
No  
  
No wait.  
  
Just a dream. Just his room, his past, still firmly where it belonged, in the past. Except at moments like this, when they seemed to sneak through the steel doors of his mind, and wake him like this.  
  
And he calmed himself as he realised two things. That it was indeed just a dream, wasn’t real.  
  
“Craig?”  
  
And that it had woken Kenny.  
  
He ran hands through his hair a few times, trying to ignore the sweat that prickled at his forehead, his instinctual need to search the corners of his room for….  
  
For what? A threat?  
  
He should be over this by now.  
  
 _You okay?_ _  
__  
_Craig took a shuddering breath.  
  
 _Just a nightmare_ He reassured quickly, forcing his mind to calm, to quickly lock the remnants of memories away.  
  
He needed a moment, just...a minute. And then he’d be fine. He always was.  
  
 _Want to talk about it?_

 _No. Just a dream. Don’t worry._ _  
__  
_He flinched in reflex as he felt a hand on his back, and then relaxed into the touch when he remembered. There was no one else here, no one trying to hurt. There was just him and Kenny.  
And he slowly let himself be pulled back into a lying down position. The hand moved from his back, to his chest, pressing there gently.  
  
 _Your heart is so fast. It’s okay..._ _  
__  
__Craig_ felt fingers gently through his hair, and the hand on his chest returned to his back, Kenny pulling him closer, calmly comforting him. And it helped.  
  
...Sorry _for waking you_ _  
__  
__It’s okay._ _  
__  
_Kenny was very gently humming something through their link, fingers gentle and soft.  
  
 _What...is that song?_ _  
__  
_The fingers stopped. There was silence for a moment. And then there was a sigh.  
  
 _Someone used to sing it to me when I was a really young kid, and I struggled to sleep. It’s...an Irish folk song. Sorry, it’s probably annoying, it’s all I could think of._ _  
__  
__...Do you know the words?_ _  
__  
_Another pause.  
  
 _It won’t make sense. It’s in Irish._ _  
__  
__I wanna hear it._ _  
__  
_Silence. And then fingers continued to move.  
  
  
  
 _Siuil, siuil, siuil a ruin,  
Siuil go sochair agus siuil go ciuin,  
Siuil go doras agus ealaigh lion.  
  
Siuil, siuil, siuil a ruin,  
Siuil go sochair agus siuil go ciuin,  
Siuil go doras agus ealaigh lion,  
  
_ _Is go dte tu mo mhuirnin slan.  
  
_ _  
__  
_It was weirdly soothing, in a way Craig hadn’t experienced before.  
  
 _You know Irish. You’re full of surprises._

 _  
_Kenny scoffed quietly.  
  
 _I don’t know Irish. I just know...some of the songs. From growing up. It was just the first thing I could think of. Honestly haven’t thought about it in years. Just remember they used to calm me down after a nightmare. Not a big deal._ _  
__  
_Craig could tell Kenny was lying about some part of that statement, but didn’t push it. He instead leaned up, using his left hand to pull Kenny close, entwining his fingers in blond hair softly, gently. He felt Kenny relax.

_You like music a lot._

_Yeah...I love it. I was brought up with music. Think I learned to sing when I was like...nine? Ten?_ _And...pfft, it was so dumb. I think I only did it because of some dumb idea we all-uh, the four of us, before Leo joined, it wa just the four of us- had to start our own circus, don’t ask, and I was totally ripped on for singing badly. Got told to ‘get good’. So I got a dumb book called “Singing like Bochelli for beginners” And….I remember belting out Con Te Partirò at night as a kid…_ _  
__  
_Kenny had started quietly laughing. He felt the slight shuddering of his body as he laughed, mix with the quiet sound, and the _feel_ of laughter zipping up and down his spine.  
  
  
\- _And I ended up in Romania_  
  
 _...What?  
_ _  
__  
_Kenny laughed harder. Craig felt the urge to kiss him entirely senseless at the sensation, over and over, barely giving allowance to breathe, but resisted in the name of ‘conclusion of story.’  
  
  
 _Yeah...ended up singing there, got pretty popular. But yeah...had to come back._ _  
__  
_Craig almost missed it, but Kenny’s thoughts had suddenly become...evasive.  
  
 _But yeah, long story short. Learned to sing, fell in love with music. It’s probably one of the few things I'd wanna really go for._ _  
__  
__  
_

_Is that what you're doing at college?_

_Yeah. What about you?_

_  
Business...and photography  
  
_

_Business..sounds kinda heavy._ _  
__  
__It’s a safe option.  
_ _  
__  
__Photography though...you take photos?_

_Yeah_

_I wanna see some._

_Looking at photos is probably boring when they're not your own._

_No way. I mean...yeah you're right. Nothing worse than someone showing you their hundreds of holiday photos, but, I wanna see your stuff. See what kinda stuff you like taking pictures of._

_Mostly people, or skies. Sometimes rural shots. Not really exciting._

_It’s..I dunno, something you care about. It’s_ **_not_ ** _gonna be boring.  
  
_ _  
__  
_Kenny’s eyes were almost vivid in the darkness of the room. Or, at least, the artificial darkness caused by his blinds. Outside, it was probably bright and sunny.  
  
  
Craig glanced at the clock. 07:32. They'd slept for just over an hour. They hadn’t slept long, but maybe they should get up?  
  
  
And then Kenny yawned, and Craig changed his stance almost immediately. Not yet.   
  
  
Go _back to sleep._ _  
__  
__Ngh...you first._ _  
__  
__You might be waiting a while._ _  
__  
__Fine.  
  
_ _  
__  
_And Kenny, to his credit, persevered like a champion, alternating between gently humming and singing quietly (and tiredly) through their link, occasionally stumbling over words, stopping halfway through for a moment or two, and then remembering what he was doing.  
  
Craig focused on helping things along, a hand through hair, gentle, occasional kisses to Kenny’s head, hugging closely, nuzzling slightly. Not talking, just enacting small ministrations of comfort, peace and calm.  
  
  
 _Craig...stop…I’m already tired enough as it is...and you’re making it harder._ _  
__  
__Then go to sleep. You’re tired._ _  
__  
__But…_ _  
__  
__It’s not a competition._ _  
__  
__I’m supposed...to be comforting you._ _  
__  
__You’re here. That’s enough._ _  
__  
__That’s so...sappy._ _  
__  
__Yup.  
_ _  
__  
_He felt fingers begin to play with the hair at the back of his neck.  
  
 _Your hair curls a little. I thought it was straight. But it curls at the back._  
  
A finger demonstrated this fact by curling a lock of it around itself.  
  
 _That’s probably not helping.  
_ _  
__  
_The fingers moved up and down, in a light half stroke, half scratch motion along where the nape of his neck met hair, and Craig felt waves of tiredness come over him as the motion continued.  
  
  
 _I seem to have found a weakness,Tucker._ _  
__  
_Craig couldn’t even argue. It felt _really_ fucking good, and relaxed any remaining tension that might have remained.  
  
  
 _That’s better...you feel all sleepy now…  
_ _  
__  
_Craig sighed lightly, muscles relaxed, heartbeat slow, eyes suddenly heavy.  
 _  
__  
__You’re a bad influence…_ _  
__  
__If sleep is a bad thing, then yes, yes I am.  
_ _  
__  
_Craig supposed that sleep wasn’t the worst thing.  
  
  
And he likely dreamed it, but one last thing slipped into his thoughts before unconsciousness took him.  
  
  
 _...If it was a competition, I won this one Tucker. You’re lucky I really l..like you._ _  
__  
_

* * *

When Craig woke up again at 09:54, he was...surprised. Nightmare nights were usually ‘no more sleep’ nights. But he’d fallen back to sleep. Not for long, but he wasn't going to complain at the small amount of sleep. It was better than nothing.

He glanced over to the blond, who was quietly snoring, his thoughts and sensations mostly silent. Now he was fully awake, he realised what he had dreamed last night, and it had come far too close to Kenny seeing things he did not want him to see.  
  
He was nowhere near ready to reveal those parts of himself.  
  
He was lucky.  
  
Kenny hadn’t quite realised it yet. The reason he struggled with mindspeak. Last night, he hadn’t noticed that he’d been fine and understood Craig perfectly. They'd had an entire conversation in which they'd verbally said nothing.

Craig had figured it out though. 

It was down to calmness, and clearing of the mind. Kenny’s mind was usually full of many thoughts and feelings. There was so much noise, and concentration on trying to hear Craig, that he didn’t notice that all it took was a relaxed and calm mind. And then it would come naturally. 

It was why Kenny understood him perfectly during moments when just falling asleep, or after just waking up. Because Kenny’s mind was calm and quiet. It wasn’t the only time, but it was the most obvious pattern that Craig had noticed so far.  
  
And he was so torn. He didn’t want Kenny to struggle, and it would be so easy to tell him. But he also didn’t want Kenny to get..better too quickly...to see the contents of his mind currently. Kenny not knowing how to maintain their connection worked in his favour. It was selfish, that he knew, but…  
  


Thoughts he’d hoped he’d buried were rearing their head. The nightmares had come less and less frequently as the years had passed, but his worries about keeping them hidden had increased the frequency of them once again. Or it was a fluke and he was overthinking things.  
  
He hoped it was the latter.  
  
Craig didn’t know how to solve this. He could shield his mind entirely. But Kenny would know, and he didn’t want to lock him out again. Once was more than enough.  
  
Any further thoughts on the subject were quickly halted, as both he and Kenny were jolted out of thoughts and sleep by a loud [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8&ab_channel=MrGameSounds), coming from Kenny’s phone   
  


_[Ngh...nooooo….ugh...what the fuck? Someone's gonna die for-Ugh. No wait, I know that ringtone….Fuck...here we go....]_

  
And with an out loud curse, Kenny blearily looked in the direction of his phone before dragging it over from the cabinet. He fumbled with his phone as he answered and put it on loudspeaker, placing it next to his head and closing his eyes.  
  
“Kenny McCormick! Where is my son?!!”  
  
Kenny sighed.  
  
  
  
“Hey Mr Stotch.” 

_[Don't tell me. It's MY fault that Leo didn't tell you where he was going....]  
_ _  
__  
__“_ Don’t you ‘Hey’ me, you troublemaker! I told Butters over and over again that you are a bad influence, and I was right! What is the meaning of you driving him to Denver in the middle of the NIGHT without _even_ the common decency of letting his mother and I know?”  
  
Kenny yawned, giving Craig a glance, and rolling his eyes. 

_Hey hot stuff. Sorry about this, and waking you up. Leo’s dad is a real...piece of work._

_“Look_ , Mr. Stotch. I’m sorry Leo didn’t tell you anything, but in his defense, he’s an adult. He doesn’t have to tell you shit.”  
  
  
Craig cringed. Not...the best way to get on a parent’s good side.  
  
“How dare you! You need to pick my son up from his...his ‘ _boyfriend’s’_ , and come home right instant! And I’m going to have a word with your parents about this, mister!”

_[I'm too tired for this shit. I need to hang up before I say something I'll regret…]  
_ _  
__  
__“_ Uh huh.Cool. Mind if I call you back in an hour?”  
  
  
“Don’t you put the phone down on-”  
  
  
Kenny pressed the end call button, tucked his phone under his pillow, and face planted said pillow. 

_[Fucking fuck. I'm so tired.]_

He eventually, after complaining into the pillow silently for a free seconds, turned on his side so that he faced Craig.  
  
  
“First Cartman, then the threadsnap, now him. People just don’t want me to sleep. It’s a fucking conspiracy.” 

  
  
The phone rang with the same ringtone. 

_[Fuck. Off.]_

Kenny reached under the pillow, and rejected the call.  
  
  
“One hour. That’s all I want. For the world to fuck off for one hour." He opened an eye. Craig just looked back at him in amusement.  
  


"Apart from you of course. You, I want right here for the next hour with me."  
  


"I'm not going anywhere."  
  


"Good. Because I will totally fight you over this."  
  


"...Kind of want to say no now."  
  


Kenny scoffed.  
  


"Masochist. Lie down."

  
And Craig complied, lying back, allowing the grumpy blond creature of his to all but burrow himself into his arms, his neck, a leg tucked between his own, every crevice of solace he could find. And there was a moment of bliss and silence.

_This feels so. fucking. good...I’m not leaving here for at least-  
_ _  
__  
_And his phone rang again. Different[ringtone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DzrAbLp3WE).  
  
  
 _-10 seconds apparently...  
_ _  
_  
“Fucking…” And he untangled himself from limbs, enough so to reach for his phone, answering on loudspeaker again.

  
“Kenny.”  
  
  
“Kevin.”  
  
  
 _My older brother._ He sent Craig. Honestly, Craig had figured that out from the ringtone.   
  
  
“Leo’s dad just rang mom. Something about ‘kidnapping his son and running off to Denver’? She’s trying to calm him down right now.”  
  
  
“I can’t believe he actually called...what a fucking prick. Ah well. May as well tell mom that I’m on my way to Cuba. And tell her I’ve got Leo tied up in a duffle bag. Wait...would he fit in a duffle bag..?”  
  
  
 _Unlikely, unless he’s a contortionist_ Craig supplied, causing Kenny to barely hold back a laugh, which clearly his brother picked up on.  
  
  
“Kenny, this is serious. He’s threatening to call the police and say you abducted him..”  
  
  
“Look. Leo’s over 16, his dad hasn’t got a legal leg to stand on.”  
  
  
“Kenny…”  
  
  
 _[Dammit Kevin…]  
_  
  
“...Fine. Lemme call Leo. See what he says.”  
  
  
“Call me back when you’re done.”  
  
“Yeah yeah.”  
  


Kenny hung up and groaned.  
  
  
“Leo’s dad is such a bastard.” He grumbled, before flicking through his phone screen again.  
  
  
“Hey Leo. How’s your morning treating you?” Craig raised an eyebrow at Kenny’s suddenly cheerful tone.  
  
  
“Hey Ken! Listen...uh, so, my dad phoned me this morning. He’s not that rightly pleased with me…”  
  
  
“Do you need to head back?” Was all Kenny asked.  
  
  
“Ah, I’m not sure. Lemme call him and talk to him, okay?”  
  
  
“Sounds good Leo. Let me know what you wanna do, okay?”  
  
  
“Will do Ken! Also, Clyde says hi.”  
  
  
“Hi back I guess?” And he hung up. 

  
“Why didn’t you tell him everything?” Craig asked. Kenny shrugged.  
  
“He panics enough about his parents. Why worry him even more? His dad sucks.”  
  
“He sounded pissed off.”  
  
“Ah, he just doesn’t like me. Hasn’t liked me since I was a poor kid from a shitty family, and still doesn’t like me because I’m a ‘troublemaker’ now.”  
  
  
 _[Shit. I said too much. Fuck.]  
_ _  
__  
_“But yeah, Leo’s dad’s one to fucking talk. Both he and Leo’s mom have made him miserable for years. They always grounded him for no reason. I guess they love him or something, but they’re really controlling. And they do not like me at all. Know airsoft weekend? He told his parents he was visiting Denver with Kyle for the weekend to visit relatives. Kyle’s the sensible good boy you see, so parents trust him. And it’s easier to lie to Leo’s parents about that kinda shit than tell them the truth. Luckily, it's only a few more months, then he'll be out of their house, and free."

And then Kenny buried his face in his pillow once more, as his phone went off again, once again with a different [ringtone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwDxev3bS74).

"Ever noticed that our key moments together are always interrupted by a string of FUCKING phone calls?" He complained as he answered the phone.

"...Hey mom."

"Kenny. Did you and Leo take an impromptu trip to Denver last night?"

"Yeah."

"And Leo wanted to come?"

"Absolutely"

"And you let someone know?"

"Told Kevin. He probably would've told you, had Leo's dad not lost his shit at ten in the morning."  
  
  
“Which is a reasonable time to call if you went to bed at a reasonable time with your boyfriend. How is Craig?” Craig could hear the teasing tone through the call.  
  
  
“...Cool mom, now I’m sufficiently embarrassed. Good talk. And he’s fine.”  
  
  
[Why mom, why?]  
  
  
 _I like her._ Craig was trying not to laugh, but failing spectacularly, despite Kenny elbowing him in retaliation. 

  
_Asshole._ _  
  
_

"Okay then. Well, let him know he’s free to visit anytime. We want to meet him.”  
  
  
“Mom.”  
  
  
 _Is there ANY chance you fell asleep during this conversation and didn’t hear it?  
_ _  
__  
__Not a chance in hell.  
_  
  
“Sorry, sorry. Anyway, regarding Leo. We've managed to calm his father down. He's on the phone with Leo right now. Just wanted to check you were okay and you hadn't 'abducted' Leo, as he was claiming." Her tone was heavily amused.

"Mom, if I'd abducted Leo, don’t you think I would be halfway to the borders by now? Gimme some credit."

She laughed.

"I'd assumed as much. Plus, as I have had to repeatedly remind him, you two are adults. Adults with new soulmate partners. I remember what that's like in the early stages. I think once Leo explained that to him, he understood a little more."

"Thanks mom. If you managed to get through to him, then you're a miracle worker. Sorry he decided to pester you with it."

"Well apparently he'd called you, but you'd put the phone down on him, and ignored his calls after that." The tone was teasing more than annoyed.

"...Okay yeah, that was my bad. I didn't think he'd actually call you though. And in my defense, I spent the night...driving to Denver. I was still asleep when he called."

"Perhaps next time my darling, go in the morning?"

"...That was probably the sensible option. Can you tell Leo's dad that we're not on the way to the borders or anything, so he can relax, and even if we were, we're over 16 so he couldn't legally do shit anyway? I would, but he hates me. Plus he’d probably get real mad if I told him we’d chosen Vegas for our impromptu wedding."

"...I'll tell him the first part. And he doesn't _hate_ you Kenny. He's just a concerned parent."

"No mom, you're a concerned parent. He's a controlling fuck."  
  
  
The woman on the line sighed, but it was an endearing one. 

"Be safe sweetheart. Keep in contact. Tell Craig hi."

"Will do mom."

"Love you Kenny."

"Love you too mom." 

And Kenny put the phone down. Which immediately started [ringing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnXUDaZm1l8&ab_channel=MockingbirdAnime).

"Oh COME ON!" Kenny sat up and jabbed at the answer button, flopping back down on the bed, and pulling Craig’s arm over him.

_Don't judge me. I let Leo pick his damn ringtone, and he's a fucking anime nerd.  
  
  
_ _I didn't say anything  
_  
  
 _I can feel your amusement Fucker._

_Good. Wasn't hiding it._

_Asshole. Fucking hug me so I don’t kill someone._

"Heey Ken."

"Hey Leo. What's the sitch? Do we need to elope? I was thinking Vegas..."

"Hell no blondie! You back off."

"Oh, hey Letterman. Tell me, what's spooning Leo like? Are you the big spoon or little spoon? Need to know for after we’re married."

"D-dude...that shit's private..."

Craig snorted at the response.

"Holy shit. Was that Craig laughing? Dude, did you break Craig??"

"Like you said, that shit's private."

"I...do not want to picture the implications of that statement."

"Sounds like you came to a battle of perverted chicken unarmed my friend."

"I'm not a pervert!"

"Clearly."

"It's not something to be proud of!"

"I fucking beg to differ."  
  
  
 _Amen._ _  
_ _  
  
_ _Praying to the gods of pervertism now, Tucker?  
_ _  
_ _  
_Craig smirked. And bit lightly at Kenny’s earlobe.  
  
  
 _Dear god, who art in heaven.  
_ _  
_ _  
_"Hey fellas? Maybe it's not the reason we called, yeah?"

"G..good point. So yeah, what's the p..plan?"  
  
  
 _Fucking. Craig. This is really distracting.  
_ _  
__  
_Craig ignored him, biting lightly on his neck.  
  
  
 _Fuck..._

"So uh, dad wants me to come back home-"  
  
  
“..Sorry, say that again Leo, you...cut out.”  
  
  
 _Liar...Lying is a sin you know…  
_ _  
__  
_"I said my dad wants me to come back home-"  
  


"Okay Leo, lemme just get dressed and-"

"-and I said no."

"-we can be on our way, wait what?"

"I told him I was free to do what I wanted."  
  
  
Craig had started alternating between biting and sucking on the spot he’d bitten on, and it was entirely worth it to hear the whimper turned cough.  
  
  
 _You...fuck…  
_ _  
__  
__While you’re on the phone? If you’re sure...  
_ _  
__  
_Craig’s hand drifted lower.  
  
  
 _Don’t you fucking da-  
_ _  
__  
_The thought was cut off as Kenny tried to keep quiet. Apparently it took quite an effort, because he heard nothing thought wise, for a few moments. That didn’t stop Craig.  
  
  
  
 _Craig…_

_Mm?_

_You know what you’re doing right now?_

_Mm hm?_

_With your hand?_

_Yeah?_

_And your mouth?_

_Yup?_

_That...is the opposite of helpful right now!_

_Agreed._

_Fuck…I...._

_Something to say McCormick?_

_  
_“Ken, you okay? You've gone all silent.”  
  
  
Kenny was silent mostly because it was difficult to speak, mindspeak and keep any suggestive noises away. With what Craig considered a very worthy effort, Kenny replied.  
  
  
“Sorry Leo, I’m here. I think the signal is really bad or something.”  
  
  
 _Another lie. Another sin.  
_ _  
__  
__Y..you’d make a fucking perverted man of god.  
_ _  
__  
_“Need me to call you back Ken?”  
  
  
“Y..yeah, gimme some time to fuck around with my phone. I’ll call you back.”  
  
  
“Okay Ken. Talk to you in a bit!”  
  
  
“Yeah”  
  
  
And the moment the phone was put down, Kenny turned to Craig and assaulted him with a searing, biting, irritated, turned on kiss.  
  
  
 _Shouldn’t you...call Leo back after you’ve fixed your very broken phone?  
_  
  
 _Tucker. You fucking started this, you had better fucking finish it, or I swear to god…  
_ _  
__  
__So I have made a believer out of you. I’d make a great pastor.  
_ _  
__  
__Tucker_ _  
__  
__  
__Yeah?  
_ _  
__  
__Shut the hell up and fuck me already you asshole.  
_ _  
__  
__Amen  
_ _  
__  
_

* * *

Kenny had phoned Leo back after a short while, and wisely sat away from Craig, at his desk during the conversation, to Craig’s amusement.  
  
  
 _I wouldn’t need to if you weren’t so depraved.  
_ _  
__  
__Says the guy who asked me to, and I quote ‘fuck me already’  
_ _  
__  
_Kenny ignored him, his reddened cheeks the only indication he’d heard what Craig had thought, as he focused on the voice coming through loudspeaker.

"-And he said "Butters, if you don't march yourself back here right now, then you're gonna be in big trouble.""

"What did you say to that?"

"Well. I told him 'No dad, it's not just me I have to consider, and it wasn't fair on you and all that. And well...he said some things about you I wouldn't like to repeat."

"He doesn't like me. Already knew that. Also don't get in trouble because of me. I dragged you here."

"No Ken, I got all mad at him for the things he said, and well, we shouted for a bit, and he gave me an ultimatum."

"...What ultimatum?"

"...It don't matter all too much. Point is, we can stay."

"Leo, what was the fucking ultimatum?"

"... _'Butters, you come back now, or don't come back at all.'"_

Craig watched as the light-hearted expression fell from Kenny's expression, replaced with one of seriousness.

"Leo-"

  
  


"I know what ya gonna say Ken, and no, I'm not changing my mind. If that's all it takes for them, well, I don't wanna go back."

"...Leo. If you need somewhere you can totally stay at mine until we leave for college. My folks won't mind-"

"I appreciate it greatly Ken, you know I do, and I would and all, but I don't think that's gonna be a problem."

"Why not?"

_Clyde got there first._

Kenny glanced at Craig at the thought sent, frowning.

_Fuck. I didn't catch that. Something about Clyde? Fuck I'm losing it again._

Craig felt Kenny's agitation. At the situation, at the loss of communication. Which was obviously making talking to him harder. 

"Well, Clyde offered to let me stay at his. And his dad was real nice about it. We'll both be heading off to college in a few months anyway."

_[Isn't that a bit fucking fast?] [Panic]_

"Leo, you...sure?"

"Well sure I am. We're soulmates, it's natural, right?"

"....Right..."

[Is it? Is it okay it's that fast because they're soulmates] [Fearful]  
  
  
Craig noted the agitation shift in a different direction. Was Kenny...scared? 

"So uh, what about all your stuff?"

"I don't know. Maybe dad will let me come and get my things...but I don't really wanna go back right now... I only really care about a few things anyway, like my laptop.”  
  
  
“I’ll do it.”  
  
  
“Wait, what?”  
  
  
“I got you into this mess Leo. Tell me what you need, I’ll go get it.”  
  
  
“Honest Ken, there’s no rush. You don’t need to do that. I can arrange something eventually.”  
  
  
“I’ll head over later. I _seriously_ need some sleep, but after that, I’ll head back.”  
  
  
“Ken, that's a four hour round trip...”  
  
  
“It’s fine. Honestly. Now get off the damn phone and go and be all lovey dovey or something.”  
  
  
“Ken…”  
  
  
“I’m hanging up Leo. I’ll call you before I leave, kay?” Kenny called, before doing just that. He sat at the desk for a minute.  
  
  
 _[I need to calm down. Fuck.Why is this worrying me so much? Why are they moving in together already? They just met, and now-fuck, it’s so quick!]_  
  
  
And Craig felt his..protectiveness kick in.  
  
  
 _Kenny?_ _  
__  
__Mm?_  
  
 _Come here_ _  
__  
  
_And Kenny stood up, making his way over, before laying down, once again pulling Craig’s arm over him, and curling up slightly into him.  
  
  
 _I’ve got you  
_ _  
__  
__Shit. I’ve lost it again. Protectiveness? Why? I’m fine.  
_ _  
__  
_He was not fine. His thought speech was stuttered again. So Craig left it, letting the erratic thoughts dominate the link, offering only calm, ebbing ones in return. Until eventually, the storm had calmed somewhat.  
  
  
And as they lay there quietly for a moment, Craig wondered how to broach the..issue he’d felt that had caused the panic.  
  
  
 _You okay? You’re looking really thoughtful._   
  
  
But Kenny had gotten there first. Craig would focus on what he did know how to phrase. For now.   
  
  
_Do you want me to come with you when you go back?  
_ _  
__  
__Ah, I got...most of that. Come with me something something?  
_ _  
__  
__When you go back._ _  
__  
  
__Come with me when I go ba-oh! Gotcha. It’s okay. You didn’t sleep much either.  
_ _  
__  
__That’s not stopping you._ _  
__  
__Yeah, true. I won’t be gone long. I wanted to ask by the way, we didn’t really talk about it. How long I should hang around.  
_ _  
__  
_Forever. Craig wanted to answer. But based on Kenny’s...thoughts from before, probably not an ideal choice of words.  
  
  
 _My parents are away. Cruise holiday. And I dunno where my sister is. Probably out with friends. You can stay for however long.  
_ _  
__  
__Uh...parents...something about a cruise? You..have a sister? Cool, me too. Something something friends. Stay however long. That right?  
_ _  
__  
_Craig wanted to laugh in response to the attempt. Instead he pulled Kenny close, leaning in close to his ear.  
  
  
“Stay as long as you want.”  
  


* * *

  
Kenny pulled into his driveway. He wouldn’t be here long, he needed to head over to Leo’s.  
  
And he needed to figure out a few things.  
  
How to get Leo’s things. He reckoned he could get Kyle to help with that.  
  
What to do after that. That was the big question.  
  
He rubbed at his chest. The threadsnap wasn’t physical, but it was a phantom pain that made the brain feel like rubbing the area would help...somehow.  
  
Okay, reordered plan. Coffee, then Kyle’s, then Leo’s, then afterwards.  
  
Afterwards…  
  
Yesterday and today. It had been amazing.  
  
But he wasn;t sure if it was real. Seeing Clyde and Leo moving so fast. Three was no way that could be real, right? It was...soulmate induced. Every moment, it felt as if it wasn’t...couldn’t be him. It felt too good, as if he should be enjoying it. That had to be the link, right?  
  
Last night he had almost slipped. Almost said something inexplicably stupid to Craig when they’d fallen asleep. He’d caught himself. And he found that he had to keep catching himself.  
  
They’d known each other a few days, not even a week. The link was trying to force him to say things that _weren’t real._ _  
__  
_He needed to talk to someone. Maybe Kyle?  
  
No, Kyle was starry eyed over the idea of a soulmate. He wasn’t sure he’d understand. He’d probably encourage it. He needed someone else.  
  
And in the meantime, he needed to tell himself. Attraction was there. Beginnings of a friendship, there. Sex. Fucking great. Anything else was a lie. At least for now.  
  
And as he leaned on his steering wheel, recalling his last ‘fond memory’ of when he’d leaned on his steering wheel, he had a thought that Usher, Zac Efron and Michael Jackson would have been proud of him that day.  
  
And that was when he noticed the car packed a few houses down.  
  
  
  
A Lamborghini Diablo.  
  
  
Was that..?  
  
  
  
He got out of his truck, still eying the car, and the house. Whose house was that? He tried to recall, but honestly, no one came to mind.  
  
Shaking thoughts of confusion out of his head, he reminded himself of why he was here. He needed to find Kyle.  
  
What time was it? He checked his phone. 17:37pm.  
  
  
Okay, new plan. Coffee, grab food, find Kyle, go to Leo’s, get Leo’s stuff, have figured out what to do next by that point.  
  
He fished his keys out of his pocket, and let himself in, letting the door slam.  
  
“Kenny, door.”  
  
He cringed. He always fucking forgot.  
  
“Sorry mom.”  
  
“How does she always know it’s me?” he murmured quietly to himself.  
  
“Probably because you’re the only one that does it. Let’s hope burglars don’t learn the same thing, aye kiddo?”  
  
“Hey dad.” His dad wa at the breakfast bar of the kitchen, currently eating….  
  
“What is that?”  
  
“Ah...your mother decided to try cooking tonight.”  
  
Kenny cringed again. His mother was good at many things. Cooking was not one of them.  
  
“Please don’t tell me there are leftovers.” He pleaded.  
  
“Let’s say I forgot to tell you about them until you’d already made something yourself.” His dad replied with a wink.  
  
“I owe you big time.” Kenny replied as he opened the fridge. Chicken and cheese constituted a meal, didn’t it? He’d chuck a few grapes in there for good luck. Five a day and all that. And that yoghurt. Yeah, that probably covered all bases. Meat, dairy, fruit...more dairy. It was good enough.  
  
And as he passed the fridge with his goods, he flipped on the coffee machine.  
  
“Weren’t you in Denver?”  
  
“Yup”  
  
“And now you’re back”  
  
“Yup. Going back though.”  
  
“Quick coffee visit then.”  
  
“You know it.” And Kenny sat at the breakfast bar, tackling the yoghurt first. Did it make sense? Probably not. Did he care? No.  
  
He eyed the...dish that his dad was currently eating.  
  
“...What was it supposed to be?”  
  
“I believe..some kind of stew?”  
  
And he watched as his dad faithfully continued to eat. And he always did, no matter what his mom made, his dad would eat it.  
  
“Better you than me.” He decided.  
  
“Love makes you do funny things.”  
  
Kenny stopped, the spoon halfway to his mouth.  
  
“Love? That’s why you do it?”  
  
“Well sure kiddo. It makes your mom happy, and I love her.”  
  
He was not on good terms with that word currently. And it made him wonder. Would he do something that he didn’t like, or didn’t interest him, just because it’d make Craig happy?  
  
  
 **_  
  
  
Looking at photos is probably boring when they're not your own._ **

**_  
No way. I mean...yeah you're right. Nothing worse than someone showing you their hundreds of holiday photos, but, I wanna see your stuff. See what kinda stuff you like taking pictures of._ **

**_Mostly people, or skies. Sometimes rural shots. Not really exciting._ **

**_It’s..I dunno, something you care about. It’s not gonna be boring._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_  
_**  
  
  
He put the spoon down. It wasn’t the same thing. Wanting to know more about someone was NOT the same fucking thing.  
  
The coffee machine whined at him. IWell, it didn’t ‘whine’, it made more of a whirring, then hissing noise. But he liked to say it was whining for attention. He stood, and retrieved the mug he’d slid under there.  
  
He loved some things. He loved music. He loved his sister, his parents. He loved his friends. He loved his truck, he loved C....Coffee. There was nothing wrong with loving things, and family, and friends.  
  
He was getting ahead of himself. Coffee, food, Kyle, Leo’s. Nothing else needed to worry him before that.  
  
And after he was done, he debated heading upstairs.  
  
  
 _No, do things in order. Then see.  
  
_ _  
__  
_And with that, he made to head out.  
  
  
“See you later dad. Tell everyone I said hi and bye. Might be back tonight or tomorrow.”  
  
  
“Will do, Ken. Drive safe.”  
  
  
And as he shut the door, he almost collided with someone.  
  
  
“Shit! Uh, sorry, I...Damien?”  
  
  
“Kenny.” Damien offered him a smile.  
  
  
“What’s up man? Did you need..” And he gestured at his front door with his head.  
  
  
“No. I was looking for you. I bumped into some old friends, caught up, they mentioned you lived here, but I remembered you were out of town. And then I saw the truck, and got curious.”  
  
  
“Oh yeah. I’m back for a bit. How come?”  
  
Damien gestured to where his car sat.  
  
  
“It’s been a while, and we didn’t get the chance to talk properly before. I moved in over there. Temporarily obviously.”  
  
“Obviously.” Kenny repeated with a grin.  
  
“Help me break the house in with some drinks?”  
  
Kenny considered the offer for a moment. This was Damien. He trusted him well enough, they were old friends. On the other hand, he had a plan…  
  
Fuck it. Coffee was done, food was done. He could slot Damien in before Kyle.  
  
“Yeah, why not? It’s been a while right? Lemme just message someone.”  
  
 **KENNY:** _Hey, Leo. Listen. I might be back a little later than planned. Like, tomorrow probably. I met an old friend. Don’t worry, I’ll still get your stuff. Hope that’s cool._  
 **LEO:** _Ken, there’s honestly no rush. Take your time._  
  
For a moment, Kenny considered messaging Craig, to tell him he’d be back a little later than planned. And decided against it. He could always call later if it got too late. And he put his phone away and looked to Damien. **_  
_** **  
**“Well then, lead the way.”  
  
  


* * *

  
Damien had let them both in to his house, and was walking along the hallway, but noticed that Kenny was no longer following him. Kenny had stopped to read something on the wall in the entrance hall.  
  
  
“What caught your interest?” Damien asked, although he knew very well what it was.  
  
  
A poem was framed there. A gift from a friend. And it was this that Kenny was now reading.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 **  
 _THE SPIDER AND THE FLY  
_ **  
_  
__"Will you walk into my parlour?" said a spider to a fly;_

_" 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy._

_The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,_

_And I have many pretty things to shew when you are there."_

_"Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "to ask me is in vain,_

_For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."_

_"I'm sure you must be weary, with soaring up so high,_

_Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the spider to the fly._

_"There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin;_

_And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in."_

_"Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "for I've often heard it said,_

_They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"_

_Said the cunning spider to the fly, "Dear friend, what shall I do,_

_To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?_

_I have, within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;_

_I'm sure you're very welcome—will you please to take a slice?"_

_"Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "kind sir, that cannot be,"_

_I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see."_

_"Sweet creature!" said the spider, "you're witty and you're wise._

_How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!_

_I have a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,_

_If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."_

_"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,_

_And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."_

_The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,_

_For well he knew, the silly fly would soon come back again:_

_So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner, sly,_

_And set his table ready, to dine upon the fly._

_Then he went out to his door again, and merrily did sing,_

_"Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing;_

_Your robes are green and purple---there's a crest upon your head;_

_Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead."_

_Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,_

_Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;_

_With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,_

_Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue:—_

_Thinking only of her crested head, poor foolish thing!—At last_

_Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast._

_He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,_

_Within his little parlour—but she ne'er came out again!_

  
“I remember this poem from class. I swear…” Kenny murmured.  
  
“What is it?” Damien now stood at his side, looking at Kenny, who still focused at the poem.  
  
“There was a little more to it. I’m sure it doesn't just...end there.”  
  
“You would be correct.”  
  
Kenny glanced to Damien, who smirked, and then looked up at the poem.   
  
“The poem was a cautionary tale. I didn’t like the fact it warned people, so I removed the warning.”  
  
Kenny scoffed at this.  
  
“Editing poems to suit your needs. Very machiavellian.”  
  
“Perhaps. I just prefer the simple charm that the fly was too busy being entranced to even notice the spider until it’s too late…”  
  
“Hey, I’m not judging your tastes at all.” Kenny’s eyes were filled with bright amusement as he turned away from the poem.  
  
“At the end of the day, it’s just a poem. We don’t have to worry about spiders or flies.” Kenny commented flippantly, looking over his shoulder at Damien expectantly.   
  
“Correct. Shall we walk into my parlor then?”  
  
Kenny laughed.  
  
“I’ve missed you Damien.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“So, tell me, what were you doing in Denver exactly?” Damien toyed idly with his glass. He wasn’t the biggest fan of beer, so had been more than happy to let Kenny indulge himself. They were a few drinks in now, and while  
“Well...uh..I was visiting my soulmate.”  
  
Damien raised an eyebrow.  
  
“I was under the impression that you didn’t have a soulmark.”  
  
“Yeah, me too. And then it happened.” And Kenny held up his wrist, where cursive writing covered it.  
  
“Your..mark?”  
  
“Well...it was a tattoo, apparently the mark was underneath. But the words were the same as the tattoo.”  
  
“How..remarkable.”  
  
  
It was more than a little remarkable. It was downright implausible.  
  
  
  
“Yeah, weird right?”  
  
“When did this meeting..happen?”  
  
“A few days ago.”  
  
  
Damien frowned ever so slightly at this news. But instead of vocalising his thoughts, he instead stood.  
  
  
“Another drink?”  
  
“Yeah, sure.”  
  
“And then maybe you can tell me more about your...link."  
  


* * *

  
"It's just...I feel like I like him, like, so much. But how do I know that's me? This link could be the reason behind it. An' like, you're supposed to fall in love with people right? Well how do we even know it's love an' not some mystical thread that tells you you are?"

Kenny's words were now slightly slurred, and the slight southern accent was slightly more pronounced as he dropped letters. Damien found that both adorable and amusing. 

"So, you think you're not soulmates?" He asked mildly. Kenny shook his head.

"I have no idea. Our link thing is weird as hell, an' like, it doesn't work the way it should. Like, we can talk to each other in our...I think it's our heads? And feel what each other is feelin', share memories an' other shit."

Damien raised an eyebrow. This was...very interesting. 

"That’s.. definitely not normal."

"Right? Like, what if he's only into me because he HAS to be? That'd really suck."

Kenny was pretty naive. Both useful, and adorable. Damien had the slight beginnings of a plan, but he wanted to play this very carefully. He needed to know more. 

"So, how would you fix it?"

"I dunno. Firstly, this threadsnap fucking _hurts._ Like, is it supposed to hurt this much? An' like, it woulda been cool to get to know him before magically linkin', you know? I l...like him so, so much. But I don’t _know_ him. An' Leo and Clyde are already spoutin' “I love yous” an’ movin' in together, an' I just...how? That seems so fast, like, they’ve not even known each other a week. Does Craig expect that?”  
  
  
Kenny was clearly also very scared. Which was incredibly easy to manipulate. As long as he was careful, and timed it just right. The best ploys were ones people believed they’d thought up themselves.  
  
  
“If you could, what would you do to fix this?”  
  
“I...I remember when we first met, Kyle told me I should ask for his number. Maybe I would’ve. I wish...I could go back to before, an' I dunno, ask him for coffee, get to know him, or somethin'. That’s dumb though.”

Damien liked rare, beautiful things. Like Kenny. And this link. And he wanted to meet this ‘Craig’. To see if he was as rare, was as beautiful. There was something about them that had made this occur. And he wanted to know. Wanted to test it. Wanted to play with it.  
  
This link, if it was what he thought it was, was indeed rare. And usually, not something he could even toy around with. But...Kenny was giving him an in of sorts. If given the chance, he could....  
  
“...It’s not ‘dumb’. And not entirely impossible.”  
  
Kenny’s eyes, which had been focused on reading the label on his bottle, drifted over to Damien.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
  
Damien didn’t want to frighten him off, so he shrugged, looking unconcerned. Not at all how he felt on the inside. The wording needed to be very careful here.  
  
  
“There are means and ways of...undoing links. You would need to find a being outside of mortal constraints. Gods, Angels, Myths, Legends, Devils. Those sorts of beings.”  
  
“...Aren’t you a devil?”  
  
Damien laughed.  
  
“I should hope so. I know we haven’t seen each other for a long time, but I haven’t changed _that_ much."

"...Do you like being one?"

"There's nothing more...satisfying."

"...So, devils could help."

"You probably know a few angels also, didn’t you help them out when my father attacked Heaven?”  
  
  
Deflect, seem uninterested. Let him believe that he had come up with the idea.  
  
  
“Yeah...Don’t wanna...you know. I’ve done well.” Damien nodded.  
  
  
“Understandable.”  
  
  
“An'...you’re here now. Could you...do it?”  
  
  
Damien raised an eyebrow, wanting to look surprised at the suggestion. He was not.  
  
  
“Well...perhaps. It’s not something I _can’t_ do.” Damien pulled an expression of mulling over the idea. Inwardly, he was smirking. Cute, adorable, naive, trusting, loyal Kenny. Some things had changed, but at his heart, he was still the same. He wouldn’t doubt Damien’s intentions. And Damien was counting on that.  
  
  
“Do you...think it’s a good idea? Like..fuck, I don’t even...ugh, I don’t know if this is a good idea or not.” Damien watched as Kenny pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, as if the decision pained him.  
  
“I can’t know if it is or isn’t. All I know is that it will be undone, and you will know each other as you would have without the link. You would know where you both stand.”  
  
  
Too much, he needed to dial back the herding words. Kenny was frowning.  
  
  
“I shouldn’t.” Kenny vocalised.  
  
  
“You’re right. It’s for the best. Things are reasonable as they are. No need to mess with things, just to see what possibilities might be on the other side. No one likes risks after all.”  
  
  
Humans were weak to 'what if'. If they were told not to try something, they immediately wanted to, especially if they thought there would be a reward of sorts. You need only tell them 'don't eat the apple' 'don't open the box'. History showed repetitions of this over and over. The folly of humanity’s ego and curiosity. 

  
And it was delicious watching the conflict of that human nature on Kenny's expression. Humans were fun to play with. Especially when they were his favourite humans. Namely, the ones from South Park. He had a...real fondness for them. And he'd gotten to know some very interesting humans. One unfortunately, was gone from him forever, to a place that he couldn't go to. Perhaps he could hope that they sinned and were cast out, but it was unlikely.

This human however, was a lot more...versatile in his morals. He'd visited hell just as often as heaven. He was fair game. 

"Have you told this...Craig about..dying?"

Fear was also an excellent motivator to bad decisions.

"No. What's the point? He won't remember."

"You don't think the link will prevent that?"

"I'm sc-worried about finding out. Plus, dunno if I can anymore. It's been like...7 years?"

"You haven't all this time?"

"No...Don't know why. Not that I'm complaining. But it might be gone, you know?"

Unlikely. Curses didn't just up and 'disappear'. However, the subject was moving far too astray from its original destination.

Damien watched as the blond turned somber, hair falling into his eyes. Pretty blue eyes, and pretty blond hair. 

Damien supposed it wasn't humans alone that wanted what they weren't supposed to have. Envy and temptation were foundations of what it meant to be a devil after all. 

"I...know we haven't spoken for a while. But, you're kinda the only one who...understands. And, I don't know what to do…"  
  


  
The last part was whispered. And Damien smiled. 

"You know I'm happy to help you solve your problems."

“...Thanks Damien."

And Kenny looked up at him, with the prettiest blue eyes, that held a mix of hesitant, and vulnerable, overlaid with a slight sheen of intoxicated. 

So...fragile…

Hell had little use, or room for fragility. It was an eternity of needing to be strong, of hiding fragility behind closed doors, where no one would see that weakness. 

To see it now made Damien realise it was one of his favourite expressions. The scarcity of the expression made it desirable. 

  
  
Damien chose against what he would have done in that moment, and instead took a sip of his drink. And Kenny stood up.

"I..I'm gonna get another drink. You want another?"

"Please."

And Damien watched thoughtfully for a moment as the pretty blond went into the kitchen. 

Seeing Kenny at a gas station of all places hadn't been on his radar of plans. In fact, it had taken him a moment to even recognise him. He'd always seen him as his friend in the parka, so imagine his great surprise when the person staring at his car turned out to be someone from his past.

And he had been _enchanting._ Humans had various different manners of this. Some with coyness, or witty words, or the simple way they perhaps bit their lip when concentrating. Cataloguing the charms of humans was a fun pastime of Damien's.

Kenny's charm lay in a combination of elements. The slightly tousled hair, mixed with eyes that held some kind of emotion at all time without fail, finished with a crooked smile, that easily and constantly gave way to a slanted grin. Kenny's charm was akin to observing alchemical elements combine to make gold. 

And their greetings had been brief, but memorable. Enough so that when he'd seen Kenny again this evening, he had invited him over, wanting to see more, know more. Have more.

And then talk of this...Craig had come up, and plans had shifted to accommodate this. Damien was initially filled with many questions he wanted answered. And pretty, pretty Kenny, had provided most of them. 

And he had more he needed answered. What kind of person was matched and linked with a person like Kenny? What would Craig be like? Would he have the same elements that made up Kenny? It was intriguing, and he decided quickly enough that he would make sure to meet with this Craig. 

Were he a pettier demon, he might have felt disdain towards the faceless person who had robbed him of a planned evening's events, but instead, he had seen the most... wonderful opportunity present itself. And if he were cunning, and played things just right...it would be an ideal time to make use of the analogy "two birds with one stone"

  
And as Kenny returned, handing him a drink with that crooked smile that did little to camouflage the torrent of indecision reflected in pretty blue eyes, Damien wondered just how long it would take for Kenny to break and ask. 

And Damien watched, waiting, cataloguing the slight shifts in emotion. The erratic tapping Kenny did seemingly absentmindedly on the side of his bottle as they talked. The little glance away every time he remembered the situation.  
  
It was both amusing and satisfying watching it build and eat away at that pretty blond mind. And it was a wait, Kenny surprisingly resilient to the storm inside him, but Damien knew from experience that there would be a moment of surrender.  
  
A moment when a question was asked. A seemingly innocuous question, with the justification that, 'it's only a question l, what harm can it do?' But those questions were a beginning to the end. A step towards a slope.

And as more time passed, Kenny let his guard down further, now leaning his head against him for physical support. Damien supposed he could have been any number of Kenny's friends at this moment, but the breach of physical boundaries was another step towards that slope.  
  
“...Hey, Damien. Thanks. For tonight. It's been good catchin' up. An' uh, you've been really supportive and stuff. Sorry if I was a downer.”

His hair tickled Damien’s neck as he talked. Damien wanted...well, a great many things.

"You know that I'm here to help."

"...Craig has hair the same colour as yours."

An odd, out of place statement, but a useful one. Damien filed the information away.

"Eyes are different though."

"How so?"

"Yours are red. His are...perfect."

"I didn't realise perfect was a colour." Damien remarked, amused. At both the statement, and the irony of things that he could see with his own eyes that apparently couldn’t be seen by the blond. Ignorance, in the right shades, could be worn quite beautifully, as demonstrated before him.

"They were the first thing I noticed when we fought. They were...ugh...so fuckin'...perfect. An’ when he’s angry, just...fuck...No one _anywhere_ has eyes like his. An' I've looked. Boy, have I looked. It's actually insane when I think about it. I remember...we had a fight, and we were all out clubbing, his friends and mine, and I was angry, he was being a prick, an’ I was...trying to...find someone to hook up with, because I thought ‘fuck him’.”  
  
“And did you?”  
  
Kenny threw his hands up, clearly exasperated.  
  
“No! And you know why? At first, it was lil things like “Oh, a brunet, nah”, or “Mm, not tall enough.” but it wasn’t a dealbreaker, y’know? But then I realised, there was a fuckin’ fucker of a dealbreaker. They all had really...the eyes...they were like...wrong. Which **shouldn't** have been important for what I wanted right then, but it was...like... I'm almost angry that he has ‘em. If it doesn't work out with us, I'm gonna have to live without em, without him...and he would not have a single problem finding someone else...because he’s him and he’s **everything** a person could **ever** want, including me.”  
  
Kenny angrily downed his drink.  
  
Damien watched this odd..flurry of emotions with rapt fascination as Kenny clunked the bottle on the floor, running hands through his pretty hair over and over in what was clear agitation, Damien focusing on how the locks caught the light with their movement. On how his bottom lip glistened _ever_ so slightly with residue liquid. How Kenny almost absentmindedly licked at his lip, removing the liquid, before biting on the same lip in irritation, worrying it between teeth.   
  
He was close enough that Damien _could_ , if he so chose...  
  
“God, I want him SO bad, I **wanna** keep him forever, but...I’m gonna fuck it up. I’m even fuckin’ it up right now, worryin’ if any of this is even real between us, or if it’s some kinda cosmic lie. And I know for a fuckin’ fact, if we did somehow break the link, and go our separate ways, he would absolutely, one hundred percent have a line of people interested. An' I know he could do better than me 100%. He could have anyone he fucking wanted, an' no one would say no. And I’d...I dunno, probably end up as I always have. Alone and shit. And I’d have to watch him with other people...Fuck, that's depressing...But surely it’s better to rip the band aid off than have this stupid link tell us how we feel, right? I don’t want him to be stuck with me just because of some kinda..soulmate lie shit."  
  
If Damien hadn’t already established the most beautiful plan in his mind already, he could see just how easy it would be to take utter advantage of this moment of delectable weakness. But...it would be a one time affair, and he much preferred the longer, but far more rewarding plan.

"Is that likely to happen?" He leaned back slightly, the temptation in his mind passing as the solid comfort of his plan eased the disappointment at an opportunity lost. 

"You don't understan'. I'm good at fuckin'...things up. Really good at it. Even when I don't mean to. Even now, I have him. I l..like him. Fuck, I hate how much I like him. But I'm still fuckin' scared because I don't know if any of this is true or if it's just soulmate bullshit. And I wanna know, an' it's gonna haunt me, and I’ll always be thinking about it. Damien, he's like, perfect. Uh, like, not _perfect_ perfect. He can be an asshole sometimes. But..but I l..like that about him. It's what makes him perfect. But I said he wasn't perfect...ugh, I'm not making any sense....sorry, I'm drunk. Point is, I don’t know if any of this is fuckin’ real, and it’s killing me inside."

"I think I understand. You want to know if you like each other without the link."

"Yeah. I think..I think I need to know."

Damien didn't say anything to persuade to dissuade. Kenny was teetering on the edge of that slope now. He would step over it himself, without needing to be pushed. Plus there was a divinity to watching someone choose to fall, rather than be pushed. 

"Damien?"

  
“Yes?”  
  
“Would it...hurt Craig?”  
  
  
Damien paused for a moment, both surprised and satisfied. Satisfied because this was the moment, surprised that this..Craig even now, utterly consumed Kenny’s thoughts. He absolutely needed to meet Craig. He was heavily intrigued. Whatever happened, that was a must. The plan wouldn’t work without him, but he found his curiosity spanning beyond that of a player moving pawns into their correct places. He wanted to compare the...hype to the real thing. But first, his enticing blond needed reassurance.  
  
“It will do no physical damage. It would simply be as if you never linked. That day you first met, like that.” Damien was careful to mirror Kenny’s words back at him.  
  
“...Does it take long?”  
  
“A few minutes. If that.”  
  
“....What do I have to do?”  
  
“Lie back, close your eyes, focus on the threadsnap.”  
  
  
And this was the moment. Damien saw the decision made in those eyes. And it was highly erotic to him, the unlikely but harmonious mix of surrender mixed with cobalt. Two shades that blended impeccably. And he had to cool his thoughts.  
  
  
Humans could be so...tempting, and tempted, in so many different faceted ways. When living in a place of corruption and sin, it was an overload of his senses that he would have to get used to. He would have to acclimatise once again to the vastness of potential that existed up here.  
  
  
“Okay. Let’s do it. Can I...lie on the bed, or does it have to be the floor?”  
  
“The bed is fine. It will make little difference.”  
  
"Okay, lemme just, message Craig. Apologise an’ stuff."

"Very well, but to maintain the ritual, you must make sure there are no distractions during."  
  
  
A lie of course. Kenny could be writhing on Craig in the throes of passion on this very bed and Damien would still be able to perform the ritual. Perhaps in a distracted manner based on the environmental factors, but he could get the job done. And the imagery was a pleasantry he would perhaps...reflect on later.   
  
  
But that wasn’t the point.  
  
  
He wouldn’t have any reasonable voices interjecting. He’d worked hard to get Kenny so..malleable. He wasn’t going to let that be spoiled by level headed thinking of any kind. Because he knew that even if Craig was a stranger to him, that he hadn’t quite studied the angles of his soul, that he would likely try to prevent such a thing.  
  
  
Because at the end of the day. Kenny was right. He was a fool, and he did ‘fuck things up’. And that suited him perfectly. 

Kenny finished typing out whatever he was saying, and then moved to put his phone to the side, out of the way. 

"I've put it on ‘do not disturb’."

"Good. Lie back. Close your eyes. Do not open them until it is done."  
  
  
Kenny did as he was told, looking up at Damien for a moment, before closing his eyes.   
  
  
Another lie of course. He just didn’t wish Kenny to see him pick up his phone.  
  
  
“Think of disconnecting your link. Work from the threadsnap. Take a few minutes to calm your mind.”  
  
  
Damien didn’t need any of this. He just needed to buy time, as he amused himself with what he was currently viewing on the phone screen.  
  
  
A phone call.  
  


_Tucker_

The name read as the person tried to get through. And then it ended. The screen was locked, but he could see the preview of a new message. And others followed. And Damien enjoyed watching as they trickled through.  
  
  
 **TUCKER:** _Kenny, call me back, please._ _  
_ **TUCKER:** _Pick up your phone dammit!_ _  
_ **TUCKER:** _Kenny..don’t do this…  
  
_ _  
_ _  
_And the phone rang again. But Damien could only amuse himself for so long. He had work to do.  
  
And he reached out, feeling for the link. It wasn’t a normal link, which was fortunate, otherwise this probably wouldn’t be as easy.  
  
And then he found it.  
  
And he could tell immediately, the link was already frayed, a representation of the ‘health of the link’. And he stopped, needing to take a few moments to admire it, slightly awed.  
  
This...was a lot more interesting than he first realised. The usual fare was red thread. _He_ had expected gold thread weaving into red. One of the two being...different. But this...this was even _better_.  
  
The thread was a complete, pure gold, the link softly pulsing. The odds of this were truly ...remarkable. There was no other word for it.  
  
Feeling carefully and gently along the link, he was able to feel the turmoil. With Kenny’s current mindset, it would be laughably easy to break this. As was planned.  
The amusing part was the odd, large build ups of energy thrumming along the link from the other direction, sending arcs of light, and heavy pulses along it. He wanted to laugh.   
  
With Kenny’s mindset, it would be laughably easy to break this. No matter the..fortification attempts from the other side. Whatever Craig was...attempting to do wouldn’t work.  
  
He dismissed the waves of energy, and instead focused closer to where they were, feeling along as he went.  
  
He had always laughed at the phrasing ‘threadsnap’. Threadsnap was such an odd phrase. The link made wasn’t something that was ‘snapped’. The red thread always existed, even before meeting a soulmate. The link was always there, just dormant.  
  
And when the link was activated, it would send energy. It was essentially a soul version of an electric line to each other’s soul. And early on between soulmates, over great distance, the pulses would continue, but wouldn’t meet, wouldn’t meld.  
  
And when reunited, they would meet, would meld. It was more of a ‘threadblock’ than anything.  
  
And in normal soulmate ‘red thread’ cases, that was how it actually worked. And in such ‘red thread’ cases, he would have to work a LOT harder to break this. It would take a lot longer.  
Had he thought for a moment that Kenny had a standard link, he wouldn’t have worked so hard to get Kenny to this stage tonight. But Kenny had revealed a lot. Enough so that he’d recognised that it wasn’t normal by any means.   
  
Red thread always existed. Gold thread did not. Gold thread was nonexistent, until one of two scenarios occurred.  
  
Damien had expected scenario one.  
  
This was actually scenario two. But this differentiation only made things easier.  
  
  
  
What he was about to do was a true threadsnap.  
  
  
  
And Damien recognised that he could watch and analyse this forever. But he had only a little amount of time to do this. So he continued along, feeling the link, searching and feeling along the parts closest to the blond, searching for the most frayed parts. And he knew he’d hit upon them when hit with a wave of thought.  
  
  
 _[It’s not real it’s just the link it can’t be anything else no one would love me without a link I can’t trust it I don’t want it to be here I want it gone I hate it I can’t trust it]  
  
_ _  
_  
Thoughts were powerful, and damaging. Especially so in a link. And here, they had been hidden, sequestered away from everything. But they had continued to gnaw on the thread in silence. And normally, this wouldn’t have ever broken it. Normally, the link would force the thoughts along it over time, to the other side, out into the open. Thoughts weren’t hidden for long.  
  
But he was here at this particular moment, and he could do a **lot** more with the weakened, frayed section of thread. And he wrapped the thread around one hand, and thread around another.  
  
Kenny flinched, causing Damien to raise an eyebrow. What had caused that?  
  
  
“Stay relaxed and calm. This is a key moment.”  
  
“I..felt you do that.”  
  
“It’s normal.”  
  
  
It was not normal. But he had little time to think about it.  
  
And Damien tugged slightly at the link, watching as it grew taut, Kenny flinching again, but not saying a word.  
  
The next part was a little...tricky. The thread was frayed, but still held fast. He needed a moment of weakness. He needed to push buttons.  
  
  
“Kenny. I’m curious at something I found. Did you tell Craig that you actually do love him before doing this?”  
  
  
Kenny’s eyes shot open at the statement. It didn’t matter. Damien felt the link...loosen, fray, weaken. Which was all he needed.  
  
  
And he felt a sliver of regret from the link, but it was too late for such things.  
  


He _yanked._ And the link finally snapped, sparking and stuttering for a moment, before it faded entirely. Leaving emptiness.  
  
  
And when he looked over, Kenny was curled up slightly, not moving. Damien waited.  
 _  
_  
“The...it..the threadsnap..It’s…”  
  
“Gone?”  
  
  
Kenny nodded.  
  
  
“It is done. You’re no longer linked.” 

Kenny sat there for a moment, as if not sure how to handle this.  
  
  
“..Damien”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“What you said..at the end..”  
  
“It was simply to get a knee jerk response from the thread, so I could identify where I needed to sever. There was no truth to the statement. Correct?”  
  
“I...yeah..”  
  
  
Lie.  
But Damien had always known that. It was obvious even before feeling along the link. Humans were incredibly easy to persuade when it came to them agreeing to things their heart didn’t necessarily agree with, especially if the human didn’t want to acknowledge the fact.   
  
He knew how links worked. Threads did not make you ‘feel things’, gold threads especially so. It was all from the person. The link was simply a connector. It was seen with romanticism, and was glorified among humans, but really, it was essentially a usb cable, each cable fitting another perfectly, sharing data between devices.  
  
Personally, he found the idea quite inefficient to the pursuit of carnal pleasure. But regardless of his opinions and disdain for soulmates, it wasn’t up to him, it was up to Fate. And if Kenny did indeed feel that way, it was all Kenny.  
  
  
But he wouldn’t tell Kenny that. And Kenny didn’t want to be told that. Kenny wanted to be told ‘of course you don’t love him’. And he would believe that far more readily than any sort of potential truth.   
  
Plus, why ruin things for himself before they had barely begun? 

"How do you feel?" He asked, noting the paleness in the pretty human’s skin tone. 

"I...weird...really, really weird. And..tired? Like, I’ve not slept properly for a while, but this is different..."  
  
“You are likely exhausted. It is not easy severing a link. Rest. I’ll get you some water." He offered. And he took his time with the task, timing it so that when he returned, as hoped, Kenny was asleep on the bed. 

Damien placed the water on the bedside table, before kneeling down next to Kenny. He reached over and lightly brushed stray hair away from his face, stroking along the dip under his eye with a thumb, intrigued at the wetness that came away. 

"You're an adorable, intriguing fool. Thank you for making this so easy." He said fondly, before reaching for the phone in his back pocket.

He looked amused at the lock screen, where missed calls and messages were abundant. The last couple were...adorable.

  
**TUCKER:** _Kenny...You know you’re already everything to me, right?_  
 **TUCKER:** _That’s not going to change even without a link. Ever._  
  
  
“We’ll see, Craig Tucker. We’ll see.” Damien commented quietly. And it wasn’t difficult to unlock the phone, and glance through the messages. Removing the last two should be enough.  
  
And he deleted the last two messages, sliding the phone into his back pocket.  
  
He'd keep hold of this for tonight. He wanted Kenny to stay asleep, wanted Craig to stew and worry. He wanted to see if Craig would be reckless.  
  
He needed Craig to have a reason to come to South Park, after all.  
  


* * *

##  **CHAPTER THREE**

##  **  
Bonus Material  
  
**

* * *

As mentioned in author notes above, here is the fan-art done by Magentapint/Gaille, of the 'spider and the fly' scene. Please check out https://magentapint.tumblr.com/.  
  
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* * *

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	4. Misunderstand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...You trust me because I knocked your friend out one time, and forcibly carried him into the motel room another time?"
> 
> "Well when you put it like that, it sounds strange."
> 
> "Because it IS strange."

* * *

##  **CHAPTER FOUR**

##  **  
Misunderstand  
  
  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four Song (Kenny to Craig):** We Three - Half Hearted  
 **Chapter Four Song (Kenny to Damien):** NIN - Hurt  
 **Chapter Four Song (Craig to Damien):** Blue Stahli & Emma Anzai - Not Over Til We Say So.  
 **Chapter Four Song (Craig to Kenny):** Solence - Heaven  
 **Chapter Four Song (Damien to Craig):** Jeffree Starr - Get Away With Murder  
 **Chapter Four Song (Damien to Kenny):** BT - Suddenly

* * *

  
  
  
_  
__  
__A swirling tempest of thoughts, splintered, but playing over and over. And reminded, fast forwarding, spinning fast, bringing on a phantom nausea._

  
  


_“Would it hurt Craig?”_ _  
__  
__…._ _  
__  
__“It will do no physical damage”_  
  
…..  
  
 _“Would it---physical---no damage”_ _  
__  
__……._ _  
__  
__“Would Craig--physical--hurt”_ _  
__  
__….._ _  
__  
__“Hurt?”_ _  
__  
__….._ _  
__“Wouldithurt?”_  
  
……  
  
 _Craig..._ _  
__  
__….._ _  
__  
__“Did you tell Craig?”_ _  
__  
__…_ _  
__  
__actually do youactuallydo YOU ACTUALLY DO_ _  
__  
__…_ _  
__  
__before doing this?”_ _  
__  
__……._ _  
__  
_There was a word missing. Everything played _,_ but a piece was missing. He’d lost a piece.  
  
Kenny subconsciously curled up, the thoughts racing through his mind in scattered pieces, but he was unable to wake. Not until he’d found that lost fragment. And his mind forced the snippets on him, and replayed them. It always ended the same, with a snapping sound, and then it would go around again. And rewound. And that word was still missing. And he couldn't wake up from it.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Damien sat there for a moment, leaning forward, just...watching Kenny toss and turn. It was...unusual.  
  
Perhaps this was a 'gold threadsnap' side effect.  
  
Or it was simply bad dreams.  
  
He couldn’t be sure. He’d never broken a gold thread before. He felt….extremely accomplished. 

He had placed Kenny's phone back where it had first sat, placed there last night. There had been no new messages or calls. It leaned towards his prediction coming true.  
That perhaps the 'boy wonder' was on his way now.  
  


Perfect eyes.  
  
  
  
That line had...irked him. Humans did not compete with the otherworldly when it came to traits of perfection. Human charms lay in imperfections.  
  
  
He would see soon enough what shade Kenny deemed to be 'perfect'. If perfection did exist in the realm of mortality.

And with a glance, he noted that his pretty, pretty little human had stopped his restlessness for the moment, the only movement remaining; the simple but crucial rise and fall of his chest. 

Damien leaned on his hand, just watching the motion, mesmerised.  
  
All humans breathed. So why was this little creature so much more charming to him than other humans?

  
If he sat here and thought about it for a moment, he had met many of them, many far more accomplished, or ambitious, or even beautiful.  
  
Perhaps it was the friendship, the trust that Kenny bestowed upon him without question. The need to lean on him, figuratively, and quite literally.  
  
Animals knew to stay away from him, to balk at his arrival. Humans that knew what he was would distrust him, some more instinctually than others. It was self preservation kicking in for mortal beings. It had the stench of Fate’s influence about it.  
They had all been bound tightly by Fate. And Fate was a possessive bitch over the lives of her mortals. The otherworldly beings were not allowed to touch, were not supposed to touch.  
  
And of course, he ignored that entirely. He had tempted his fair share of humans. Had caused plenty to fall into sin. It was what he did after all.  
  
But…  
  
Of those that were not marred by Fate? Who walked the lines between mortal, immortal, otherworld, this world. The ones who had true choice?  
  
They were far rarer. Wandering this poor, ignorant world, always slightly outcast, always slightly different in some way. Not given the same gifts by Fate as her other darling creatures. She reviled them, despised them.  
  
  


Kenny was one of those. Even before talk of links and threads, there had been clues. Kenny was cursed after all. Technically, he was not even a mortal. Damien would not place him in the realm of immortality either though. He was neither this world, nor otherworldly.  
  
If....his wants...were more akin to needs. Would that be a problem? Would it bother Damien if his agenda went beyond that of lust and possession? He who was not allowed to link with another, as that was Fate’s gift to her mortal pets.  
  
Surely...it wasn’t unreasonable to consider the idea that a person who existed partly in his world would...suit him?  
  
Kenny would look well on him. Very much so. Despite the imperfections that came with being entrenched in mortality for the most part.  
  


  
Except...those imperfections were charming. The visual signs that Kenny went out into the sun and had gotten burned; an odd mongrel mix of lighter, sun bleached shade of blond and the aureate tone he'd had growing up. 

His nose was slightly crooked, a potential sign that it had been broken and reset. 

Lips were chapped and showed signs of being continuously bitten and worried over a long length of time.

A slight, tiny faded scar that sat above his left cheek.  
  
The slight unevenness of his less than straight smile. 

He could sit and note the imperfections found all evening and not come up short. 

But if he did, he would find himself drawing parallels between the beautiful imperfect features, how they emphasized his more striking features, and how they made something both divine and damned.  
  
The smile was uneven, but all that meant was that no one could smile quite like him. With chapped, bitten lips, with the slightest wrinkle in his crooked nose as he did so. 

He wanted him. He wanted to keep him. Wanted to corrupt and taint his soul beyond rescue or salvation. Paint it in the shades of sin and desire that would make angels flee to behold the depraved state of the soul. He wished then to find a means to destroy the curse of immortality, to then bring him to a sublime and beautiful death, and drag him through the gates of hell, where no one could retrieve him.

Fate had already cast him away as not one of hers, and would not fight to keep him. The angels would no longer have any claim to him nor reliance on his more...celestial traits, he would be sure to eradicate those. The mortals would have no feasible way to reclaim him. Death would not stop him from taking a soul. Even the old ones themselves would no longer have a means to manipulate his lifeforce to suit twisted purposes.  
Craig...would have just as little a chance as the aforementioned. Even less so.  
  
What was a mortal honestly going to do to stop him?

But he was getting ahead of himself.  
  
  
He had far closer obstacles in the meantime. He could keep daydreams to himself for the moment. It was...safer that way. He only had so much self control after all, and this plan required a soft touch.  
  
His gaze raked over Kenny.  
  
He wanted to touch.  
  
But not yet.  
  
Not just yet.

* * *

Craig sat in his car, at a full stop on the side of the road.  
  
 _WELCOME TO SOUTH PARK_ the sign read. 

This...had been reckless. Needed, but reckless. He had no idea where to go from here.  
  
But his focus was on a few hours ago. He had felt it when it had happened.  
  
The threadsnap.  
  
Gone.  
  
The connection.  
  
Gone.  
  
He was utterly alone.  
  
  
And honestly, this might bother him more, were it not for the fact that he didn’t give a fuck about the link. It didn't matter to him whatsoever.  
  
  
Because that wasn’t what was important right now.  
  
  
What was important, was that Kenny had blurted everything out into a stack of texts, and then had gone silent since. And that was terrifying. What was he doing exactly? Was it safe?  
  
Craig just wanted to know if Kenny was safe. 

Because even after the link was gone, it hadn’t made any difference to his feelings for the blond. He didn't care if they could no longer be 'soulmates'. Who gave a fuck?  
They could still be together. And Craig didn't want anyone else. He knew this. He was assured of it without a doubt. Whatever problems they might have, it wasn’t in how he felt.

  
He'd fallen for the blond the moment they'd first spoken, the moment that poison had coursed through him. He’d known what it had been. Because it wasn't the first time he'd felt it with someone after all.  
  
If he could just...find him dammit.

  
  


He wanted the person who had picked a fight with him as a greeting, who had amused him by always running away whilst calling him every name under the sun in his head.  
  
Who had threatened him, and had crazy thoughts. Who would sing random songs in his head, who would steal his hat, and have the audacity to leave with it. Who stayed up almost all night, curious at the connection.  
  
Who was terrible at mindspeak, who screamed and laughed and cried. Who argued and utterly infuriated him when waltzing off for a walk in the middle of the night, who was stubborn and foul mouthed and would shout obscenities at him.  
  
Who comforted and sang to him when he woke up during the night. Who was a mix of everything that was beautiful, annoying, painful, antagonistic and happy.  
  
Who acted tough and dominant and independent, but secretly craved being protected and cared for. Whose smirk had made Craig both hit him and kiss him. Who was zealously protective of his friends and their best interests.  
  
He liked things to be simple. And he knew what he wanted. And Kenny, oh he loved him, but god did he like to make things fucking complicated.  
  
But...he supposed love sometimes meant putting another’s needs first. Not taking or demanding. And if it was a little unfair that it was one sided, he chalked it up to simply being more efficient and knowing what he wanted. Kenny, in comparison, was taking the scenic, twisting, curved route, and he’d gotten lost and backtracked on himself a few times.  
  
Craig would wait.  
  
He reached for his phone, meaning to ring the blond again now that he had arrived. He instead glanced again at the last group of messages he’d gotten from Kenny.   
  
  
  
**_  
  
KENNY:_** _Craig. I’m sorry, but I’m cutting the thread. I have a friend that knows how. I don’t want that to be the reason we’re together. I totally get it if you’re not interested in even being friends after it’s done. It would make sense…. At least then we’d know either way._ _  
_ _Heh, maybe I’m even doing you a favour, right? Anyway, I...l..like...I mean, I’d like it if we could talk when it’s done, if that’s cool?_ _  
_ _  
_ ** _KENNY:_** _I lied by the way. About the song..._ _  
_ _  
_ ** _KENNY:_** _I’m a lil drunk, I didn’t mean to say that. I say stupid shit when I’m drunk. Anyway, ignore me. I’ve gotta...go do this._ _  
_ _  
_ ** _KENNY:_** _I wish that you_ _  
_ _  
_ _  
_ _  
_And the message ended there _._ Half finished. 

When Craig had first seen it, it had taken him a moment to actually decipher what Kenny was trying to say. And then figure out what he meant by ‘cutting the thread’. So, he’d tried calling.  
  
No answer.  
  
He’d then texted back.  
  
And had no reply,  
  
and he’d tried again  
  
And again

He’d tried calling again.

And each time, no answer. And honestly, the more he’d tried, the more he’d initially lost control of his feelings and gave way to panic.  
  
Why was it that the thing he cared about so much also caused him the most worry?  
  
And honestly, the link they shared...had shared...was amazing, it was. It was more than had ever been expected.  
  
But, he didn’t even consider the possibility that it was something that made Kenny feel as if things weren’t real. Honestly, it wasn’t something he’d considered. But it had driven Kenny to do something drastic.  
  
He looked at his phone. His last few messages had been pleas for Kenny to contact him, just...let him know he was okay.  
  
 **  
  
CRAIG:** _Kenny, call me back, please._

 **CRAIG:** _Pick up your phone dammit!_

 **CRAIG:** _Kenny..don’t do this…_  
  
  
  
Craig wished they were linked right now, that they were close enough for him to at least...feel that Kenny was okay.  
  
  
  
And if it hurt that this was possibly happening, he ignored it for the moment. He had plenty of time to explore any sort of anger, of hurt. That would come in time. The main focus was ensuring the safety of his…  
  
...whatever Kenny was to him now.  
  
  
Craig knew it was unlikely from prior attempts, but he once again tried to feel for their link. There was nothing. A...deadness. No sound, no light. Just...nothing. 

And he dialled the number, suddenly needing the distraction from that reminder. 

* * *

  
Buzzing  
  
It was buzzing  
  
Something was...  
  
He brain recognised the meaning of the vibration, but wasn’t quite done supplying it to him.  
  
And when he did, he sat upright. Kenny looked around wildly for a moment, trying to piece together the reality of where he was, why he was there, and shake the remnants of his dreams from his mind, in a regretful manner, as he hadn’t found the word he’d been looking for.  
  
The vibration. Of course, his phone. 

  
Wait, his phone!  
  
He all but dove for it, everything flooding back in an instant.  
  
He’d fallen asleep! Dammit, he hadn’t fucking meant to do that.  
  
  
  
  
TUCKER  
  
  
  
  
“Fuck…” Kenny saw the missed-calls and messages. How could he have been so stupid to..  
  
...Oh wait.  
  
He remembered.  
  
What he’d done. What he’d needed to prove to himself.  
  
And he pressed the answer button.  
  
And the first thing he heard on the other line was a sharp intake of breath. Of surprise.  
  
  
“...Craig?”  
  
  
 _“Are you okay?”_ Was the immediate question.  
  
  
“I’m..fine. Don’t worry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”  
  
  
 _“Not physically.”_

  
  
The implication of that statement brought a memory back to his mind. A fragment he hadn’t quite shaken loose from his mind.  
  
  
“ _Will it hurt Craig?”_ _  
__  
__“It will do no physical damage”  
_ _  
_  
Thinking on it now, he hadn't even questioned the underlying meaning in the words. Until Craig had replied just then.  
  
There were many ways to hurt someone. A lot of them were worse than physical.  
  
“I...we...can we talk?”  
  
  
 _“I’m at the South Park Sign. Whereabouts are you?”_  
  
  
..  
  
 _  
__“Whereabouts are you?”_

_“It doesn’t fucking matter. Put Kyle back on.”_

_“Tell me where you are.”_

_“I’m heading back to the fucking motel. Get off my back.”_

_“Which road?”_

_“The none of your fucking business road.”_ _  
  
_

..  
  
  
  
“Uh...I’m at..” What number was this place? He didn’t remember.  
  
“If you drive past the Cinema, the Bijou, and turn left, you’ll come to an intersection. Turn right on that, and...I’m with a friend, in the white painted house. You’ll know it’s the right one, as my house is a few doors away. You’ll see my truck.”  
  
 _“I’m on my way.”_ Was all he heard in reply. And then the line went dead.  
  
Kenny sat there, just staring at his phone for a moment, before he plucked up the courage to read the messages.  
  
  
“Awake I see.”  
  
  
  
He looked up, seeing Damien standing there, a glass of water in hand. And he stepped over to him, handing it over.  
  
“How are you feeling?” he asked, looking at Kenny with an expression of mild concern. Kenny nodded as he brought the glass to his lips. And he very quickly realised just how thirsty he was, how...cotton headed he felt.  
  
He looked at his phone again. 8:05. He’d slept just over two hours. No wonder he still felt..rough.  
  
“I thought you would sleep through the night.”  
  
  
“Ah yeah, I’m sorry for falling asleep, but yeah, my phone...uh...so..Craig’s coming here.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Yeah. Um...do you want me to leave? I asked him to meet me here, but I can totally wait outside, or meet him at mine. It’s not exactly far.” The weak joke felt sour on his tongue.  
  
Damien surveyed him for a moment.  
  
“Kenny, you are welcome to stay. Always. And Craig...well, it will be...good to meet him.”  
  
“Might be sooner than you think, he’s really not that far-”  
  
A knock interrupted them both.  
  
“So I see.” Damien offered with a small smile. Kenny made to stand, but Damien held up a hand.  
  
“Please. Rest. I can get it.”  
  
“Uh, I really should…” Kenny was very aware that he was in Damien’s bedroom, on his bed. And he really didn’t think it was...the best impression.  
  
“...I’ll come with you.” He finished, standing quickly. Which he regretted, as the blood rushed to his head. Fuck. That was a bad decision.  
  
  
And he felt a hand steady him.  
  
“...Thanks dude. I’m sorry you had to spend so much time...looking after me. And now I can;t even stand up without fucking it up.” He gave an oddly bitter laugh, before the lightheadedness eventually subsided.  
  
“I am very happy to help, Kenny.” And Kenny...saw sincerity in his eyes.  
  
Usually, people said the words, but didn’t mean it.  
  
Damien was being..oddly nice. Not that he’d ever really been cruel to him or anything, but had he always been this..soft?  
  
The knocking occurred again.  
  
“...Let’s go downstairs.”  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Damien opened the door. And stood there expectantly.  
  
A person stood there. For a moment, there was silence between them.  
  
“I’m here for Kenny.”  
  
“You must be Craig.”  
  
Yellow. Yellow eyes analysing him. And Damien let it occur. He was well acquainted with ‘pragmatists’. And he would let this one perform his ‘analysis’.  
  
Because he was...surprised. Surprised that they looked so similar, but also so radically different. Craig’s countenance was one of height, and quiet self assuredness.  
  
But the pragmatist was done analysing him, and had shifted his eyebrow ever so slightly. Damien could read the subtlety of the gesture.  
  
“Please, come in. He’s in the garden out back, go straight through.”  
  
The eyes didn’t leave his own as Craig stepped through the door. And Damien was intrigued. If he didn’t know any better, he’d wonder if he’d been sussed out.  
  
And he followed at a sedate pace, deliberating over the contradicting principles that Kenny had made both a desirable and undesirable choice.  
  
And analysis worked both ways. Craig had eyes that had seen hell.  
  
Not Hell. Not his home. But the figurative ‘hell’.  
  
There were secrets there. To be teased and enticed. Perhaps to be laid flat on the floor, without the owner’s permission.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
Kenny had been sitting, biting at the skin on the side of his thumb, when Craig stepped through. And their gazes met. And for a moment, Kenny subconsciously reached out, to feel, to speak, to-  
  
He lowered his head, and his gaze.  
  
No. Not anymore.  
  
And footsteps made their way over, and Craig sat on the bench beside him. Not touching. The absence of any contact felt very clearly.  
  
  


The space left between them was like a gaping void. Kenny was avoiding looking at Craig. Craig was staring out towards the house. The garden door was open. But he didn’t particularly care if they were heard. The garden would have been dark, but there were small solar lights staked into the ground that were lit up.  
  
And Kenny watched a flock of birds make arcing loops in the sky, avoiding the confrontation.  
  
“Are you okay?” Craig eventually asked.  
  
Of all things he’d expected, that hadn’t been one of them.  
  
“Yeah...I’m..tired, but fine. You?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Yeah? Yeah he was tired? Yeah he was fine? What did that mean?  
  
Was communicating always this difficult?  
  
“So. Um…”  
  
Craig’s eyes moved towards Kenny, observing him calmly.  
  
Dammit, Kenny _wished_ he knew what Craig was thinking, was feeling right now. This was so similar to the time he’d been frozen out by Craig.  
  
Except he’d done this.  
  
  
This was his fault. 

  
  
  
“I feel really selfish saying this…”  
  
Craig didn’t say anything, just watched him, not interrupting. And honestly, that fact made Kenny really nervous. Was Craig always so...intimidating?  
  
“So...the threadsnap.”  
  
“How did you do it?” Was the immediate question. 

  
“Uh. So, Damien is kinda...able to do stuff. And he offered to help.”  
  
Craig glanced through the garden doors.  
  
“He ‘offered’?”  
  
“This was my decision Craig.” Kenny stated firmly. It wasn’t Damien’s fault. He didn’t do anything but be a good friend and help him out.  
  
“And...it was a real dick move to do this without talking to you. I know that, trust me. And honestly, I fucking regret not having a conversation first. You deserved a say. But...it’s kinda done now.”  
  
Craig didn’t answer. He just...looked at him, as if analysing him.  
  
  
Shit.  
  
  
Was that good? Was that bad?  
  
He didn’t know!  
  
It was so HARD to read Craig when they weren’t linked. How the hell did anyone communicate with him without one?  
  
Was this...Craig to other people? Was this Craig without a cheatsheet to his mind and thoughts?  
  
Honestly, it was kind of...lonely. Craig felt a little bit like a stranger. And that thought really scared him. And if he was honest, it wasn’t a bad assessment. He’s known Craig for a grand total of five days.  
  
  
  
Craig essentially was a stranger.  
  
  
  
Shit, so the link had made him feel things? Was this how he really felt for Craig once it was gone?  
  
Maybe he’d..wanted someone so badly, he’d fabricated feelings, and attached them to Craig.  
  
Oh god, what if Craig had just ‘put up with him’ this whole damn time?  
  
Maybe this link break was a blessing in disguise.  
  
Now, Craig wouldn't feel obligated to be with him. It was probably better for everyone involved. The problem was, he didn’t know how to explain that without sounding like a dick.  
  
  
  
 _“Oh, I just wanted to see if we like each other without the link”_ _  
__  
__“Hey Craig, I may have ruined your only chance to have a soulmate because I’m a selfish coward.”_ _  
__  
__“Hey, we should just be friends and get to know each other, and if it works out, I’ve fucked up our link, isn’t that cool?”  
  
_  
  
Huh. Why did this hurt so much? They were free, right? The threadsnap was gone.  
  
Why did it hurt so much?  
  
This...actually hurt a lot more than the threadsnap ever did. Why would it hurt? He’s ascertained that Craig was a stranger. That he didn’t have feelings for him.  
  
But. It hurt.  
  
He’d have to speak to Damien. Maybe there were some residual effects.  
  
Looking at Craig made it worse, so Kenny looked away, out towards the garden. And he spoke.  
  
“I guess, the first question is, do you...still wanna interact?”  
  
  
Silence for a moment.  
  
  
“That depends on you.” Was Craig’s reply. And honestly, that reply killed Kenny. In a way that he couldn’t decipher properly. Was Craig throwing him a pity bone? Craig didn’t really care either way, so he’d leave it up to Kenny.  
  
Craig could take or leave Kenny. And that was...fair, he supposed. That was how he lived life after all.  
  
People would take Kenny, and then they would leave him. Honestly, it was true. He shouldn’t feel so wretched from the truth.  
  
“Yeah...I get that totally. I just...wanna apologise. I did something stupid. It wasn’t my decision to make. And I made it anyway, like an asshole. And now I...don’t know what to do.”  
  
“...What exactly do you want Kenny?” Was the cool reply.  
  
Shit, this hurt. And he hated this distance between where they currently sat. He couldn’t ask for anything more than friendship. It didn’t matter anymore how he felt...might have felt towards Craig, did it? That ship had sailed the minute he’d agreed to do this. No, they were…  
  
  
  
They were over. 

  
  
  
And the thought made him want to be alone, so that he wouldn’t embarrass himself by crying. Over something he didn’t care about obviously, and that he’d expected. Having confirmation shouldn’t feel like such a punch to the gut.  
  
He could do this.  
  
He’d accept friendship, and he’d stay silent about anything else, whether it was there or not.  
  
He had no right to ask for more than that.  
  
“I want us to be friends.” He lied, feeling a burning sensation in his throat and in his eyes. He wouldn’t. Not until he was alone.  
  
And the silence stretched between them for a moment. And even longer. And it felt stifled, and awkward. Had he ever sat with Craig for this long without talking in some way?  
  
  
And then Craig sighed.  
  
  
“Fine. If that’s what you want. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”  
  
  
  
Kenny shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. Craig nodded, and stood.  
  
“I’m going to head off. You coming?”  
  
Kenny wanted to say yes. That he’d go where Craig went. But he knew Craig just meant inside the house. He wasn’t inviting Kenny along.  
  
Kenny shook his head. Nope. Because he needed to sit out here and hate himself for a bit. And no one needed to see that.  
  
  
“Cool.”  
  
  
And Craig was gone. 

* * *

  
  
Craig walked inside, feeling numb.  
  
  
“ _I want to be friends.”  
_ _  
__  
__"Ya daddy took the coward's way out. Don't ya ever do that Tucker. Ya make sure you have the back of those ya care about. Stick by 'em."  
_ _  
__  
__Love is about sacrifice. Putting another’s needs ahead of your own.  
_ _  
__  
_If...that’s what Kenny wanted, then, he’d wait. He’d wait for him.  
  
  
When he’d stepped out, Kenny had been sitting, nibbling on the side of his thumb. And Kenny had looked at him. And honestly, the silence was...unnerving.  
  
But mostly, he’d just been glad to see he was safe. Something calmed in him at that revelation,  
  
And then Kenny lowered his head.  
  
Craig was so unaccustomed to hearing silence with the blond in proximity. And there was...such a lack of fire to him right now. He looked so...defeated. Why?  
  
The link surely wasn’t that important that it changed things, right? It didn’t make people feel things. If Kenny felt the same way as him, this was just something that had happened, and they could work past.  
  
But he couldn’t tell. Didn’t know what the blond was thinking. So, carefully, he made his way to the bench, being sure to give Kenny space. He didn’t want to force anything.  
  
Kenny wasn’t looking at him. Why?  
  
A movement caught Craig’s eye. And his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.  
  
  
The guy. Damien. Was watching them.  
  
  
“Are you okay?” Craig eventually asked Kenny.  
  
  
“Yeah...I’m..tired, but fine. You?”  
  
Kenny looked...exhausted. When was the last time he’d slept properly?  
  
“Yeah.” He replied vacantly. He didn’t quite recall what he was answering if he was honest, he’d stopped noticing after he’d vocally heard Kenny admit his tiredness. Maybe he should have left his trip here until the morning. Let the blond sleep.  
  
“So. Um…”  
  
Craig looked towards Kenny. He was safe, and he was here. That was worth it in the end.  
  
“I feel really selfish saying this…”  
  
 _You can say it._ Craig thought for a moment.  
  
And then he remembered that they couldn’t talk like this anymore.  
  
“So...the threadsnap.”  
  
“How did you do it?” He had to admit, he was...curious at how it had happened. 

  
“Uh. So, Damien is kinda...able to do stuff. And he offered to help.”  
  
Craig glanced through the garden doors. Damien. So, he’d offered to help Kenny.  
  
Everything instinctually screamed at him that he was not to be trusted. Why would he help Kenny break a bond?  
  
“He ‘offered’?” He asked, not able to curb the accusation.  
  
“This was my decision Craig.” Kenny’s voice was firm.   
  
“And...it was a real dick move to do this without talking to you. I know that, trust me. And honestly, I fucking regret not having a conversation first. You deserved a say. But...it’s kinda done now.”  
  
Craig didn’t care. Yeah, it was a...lesser experience. He’d miss the thoughts and the words. The thing that bothered him now, was that Kenny hadn’t even considered talking to him about it, until after the deed was done.  
Didn’t he trust him?  
  
Did he somehow trust his friend Damien more with this than he had him with his worries?  
  
  
 _I really wish I knew what you were thinking and feeling. I wish you’d felt you could...talk to me about things._  
  
  
And Kenny broke their gaze once again, looking away.  
  
“I guess, the first question is, do you...still wanna interact?”  
  
  
 _Of course I do! What kind of question is that? But...do you?_  
  
  
“That depends on you.” He settled for. He didn’t want to force his wants and needs onto Kenny. He needed to know what Kenny wanted.  
  
“Yeah...I get that totally. I just...wanna apologise. I did something stupid. It wasn’t my decision to make. And I made it anyway, like an asshole. And now I...don’t know what to do.”  
  
Kenny kept apologising. And surely they’d moved past that. Onto the more important subject of _what they were._  
  
“...What exactly do you want Kenny?”  
  
  
  
 _Please. Tell me. Speak to me about it._  
  
  
“I want us to be friends.” Kenny spoke quietly.  
  
  
  
Oh.  
  
  
Okay. He needed to…  
  
  
  
Fuck…

  
Craig needed to leave. That...he…  
  
  
He needed to leave.  
  
  
  
  
But not in a panic.  
  
“Fine. If that’s what you want. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”  
  
Kenny shook his head. Craig nodded, and stood up.  
  
  
“I’m going to head off. You coming?”  
  
  
  
 _I don’t know where I’m going. But I want you to come with me._

  
  
  
Kenny shook his head. Of course. Kenny wanted space. Wanted friendship. And that was oka….it would be okay. Eventually.  
  
  
“Cool.”  
  
And he forced himself not to look back, instead, glancing to Damien, who sat at the table near the garden.  
  
  
“Oh, leaving so soon?”  
  
Craig narrowed his eyes.  
  
“We need to talk.” And he gestured towards the front door. And Damien glanced to the blond outside, before nodding.  
  
And that glance, the way it...lingered. That made Craig _seethe._ _  
__  
_Craig waited until they were out of the front door, and they stood by the SUV.

And then he rounded on Damien, who sat there, looking calm, with a small smirk.  
  
“What you did. It wasn’t for Kenny’s benefit.” Craig said bluntly.  
  
“Whatever makes you suggest such a thing?”  
  
“...I spent years around deceivers. I know a liar when I see one.”  
  
  
"Oh I bet you do...The question is...does Kenny know that?"  
  
  
"Don't change the subject."   
  
  
“Kenny is one of my oldest friends. Why would I intentionally harm him? I would not.”  
  
Damien’s words said one thing, but his eyes were the equivalent of agreeing with everything Craig had said.  
  
“Kenny wouldn’t have done what he did off his own back. Your eyes tell me you planned for this.”  
  
“You have...perceptive eyes.”

“Whatever you have planned, I promise you it won’t work.”  
  
Damien laughed.  
  
“Such a bold statement. And let me guess, _‘you won’t let it’”_ And Damien leaned back against the SUV.  
  
Craig didn’t answer, or react to the slight, and Damien chuckled at this.  
  
  
 _He was testing me. But for what?  
_  
  
“I only did what Kenny asked.”  
  
“Kenny wouldn’t ask for that.”  
  
“Oh? And you have become the expert of what Kenny does and doesn’t want? Kenny is free to choose what he wishes. Whether that’s coffee or tea, coke or pepsi, yellow or...red.”  
  
“...I’m not playing your games.”  
  
“Apparently not.”  
  
And for a moment, they just...looked at one another.  
  
“You... are so serious...Tucker.”  
  
“Don’t call me that.”  
  
“Whyever not?”  
  
“You don’t get to call me that.”  
  
“Very well... _Craig._ I stand by my point. If things are as you have said, then it will all work out. With or without your link. I’ve simply...levelled the playing field a little. If it is indeed as you say, there should be no problem, correct?”

“Stay away from Kenny.”  
  
“I have just as much right to frequent my friend’s time and space as you do, _Craig_ . We’re all friends here, and _nothing_ else.”  
  
“...That isn’t how it is.”  
  
“You don’t really have much of a say, _Craig_ . You and Kenny are just friends now. At least, that was the impression I gathered from your little...heart to heart.”  
  
Craig was silent, with no reply.  
  
"I must say, I wouldn’t rate the way you handled it very highly. I suppose ‘block of unfeeling ice’ is quite in vogue though. I’m sure Kenny loves it that you froze him out. At least it was only a one time thing though...Definitely not something someone does more than once…And after such lovely words as well. What were they….?” Damien mulled over it for a moment.  
  
“Oh yes. _‘You know you’re already everything to me, right? That’s not going to change even without a link. Ever.’_ So charming. I may have to borrow them...”  
  
And Damien stepped away from the SUV, trailing a hand along the side.  
  
“And...I suppose you will have to return to where you came eventually. Denver, isn’t it? Quite a distance. I was actually thinking of extending my time here in South Park. Kenny needs a good friend here after all. Under the bravado, under the swagger, we both know just how...frail he can be. He needs a shoulder to lean on. Somewhere for him to lay his pretty head and be assured that he is safe.”  
  
“...You underestimate Kenny.”  
  
Kenny was, and would always be a storm. Wild, unpredictable. He had moments of weakness. But he wasn’t weak or frail.  
  
“Oh do I? Perhaps I know him better than you. Perhaps I know things about him that you will never know. Perhaps...I can take care of his needs better than you can.”  
  
Craig opened the car door.  
  
“I believe in Kenny’s strength. And I pity you when he realises what you’ve manipulated him into, when that storm arrives at your doorstep.”  
  
And without another word, Craig got into his car, slamming it shut.  
  
  


* * *

Stan was tempted to call Kyle. It had been a while since they’d hung out and gone drinking. But, Kyle was the type of person who liked to be ‘back by ten thirty’, and it was almost nine now.  
  
And Stan was mulling, so almost didn't recognise him at first as they walked past one another. He had been looking down, on his phone,but the height of the person was enough for him to do a double take that made him realise.  
  


"...Craig?"

And the person looked up from his phone for a moment in response.

"You're...Kenny's friend."

Stan held out a hand.

"Stan. Stan Marsh. We didn't get much of a chance to talk at the weekend."

Craig looked at his hand for a moment, and then took it. They shook hands.

"What brings you to South Park? Visiting Kenny?"

"Something like that...have you seen him?"

Stan frowned slightly. In South Park, but looking for Kenny. He could call Kenny, but was asking him?

"Has he gone AWOL, or did you guys have a fight? Or both I guess."

Stan watched Craig's posture change. It stiffened ever so slightly. 

"You should leave him if you had a fight. He'll cool off, whatever it was."

"Yeah." And Craig nodded at him, turning to walk away. 

This guy really didn't like to talk, did he?

"Heading back to Denver?"

"..I'll find a motel."

Stan waited, mulling over things for a moment.

"Craig."

Craig stopped, looking over his shoulder.

"Come get a drink with me. Always like company when drinking."

He'd offered a chance to talk. He didn't know why he did it. Maybe curiosity.

"...Sure."

Stan had originally been heading to Skeeter's. They were a lot more lenient when it came to serving under 21s drinks. And although his group all had fake IDs, they were kids who'd grown up here. The bartenders all knew how old they all were. But they were still served in town, albeit with rolled eyes and a chuckle, sometimes with a warning to 'not go too crazy'

And they'd definitely gone crazy before. Stan remembered his uncle Jimbo having to half carry him home, and explain to his mom why he was half paraletic, his dad laughing and giving him a very wavy, very blurry thumbs up.

The problem with Skeeter's was that they...tended to like their regulars. They were slightly distrusting of newcomers. Especially when those people came from cities. That left Crunchy's. 

He was wary of Crunchy's. His dad tended to frequent here. And a lot of the time there'd be a PC Delta frat boys here. Still, it was that or Skeeter's. And if the options were bar fight and overhearing annoying conversations about 'micro aggressions'....

...well, he'd take the bar fight honestly. But they'd go Crunchy's, mostly out of respect for Kenny than anything. Getting his...well, he didn't know what Craig was to Kenny really, but getting him into trouble wasn't a great move. 

So it was a far shorter walk than usual, and eventually, they were grabbing seats at the corner section of the bar. It was relatively calm, but it usually was. In a town where there were two choices of bars, it made sense. And country music came through the hi-fi system. 

"What you having?"

Craig was looking at the selection behind the bar. 

"Laphroaig"

"Whiskey drinker huh?"

"No real preference."

Stan turned to the barkeep, who was giving Stan a look that indicated he recognised Stan, but hadn't decided whether to pull him up on being underage.

"Hey Shaun. Been a while. A Laphroaig and a Jameson please."

Always helped to know the names of the people who served you. It set the precedence. Stan was indicating that by knowing him, he knew that Shaun knew they were underage, that he wasn't so much trying to pull the wool over his eyes, so much as silently ask for Shaun's indulgence. 

"Coming right up Stan." and Shaun had stopped frowning, offering instead a smile as Stan handed over the money. 

Stan wasn't a troublemaker in general. Trouble did seek to find his group, but he wouldn't say he went out looking for it. And it was a reputation he liked to keep. People liked simple and uncomplicated. And that was pretty much what he wanted from his life. 

And Shaun slid the two glasses over to them, Stan sliding one along to Craig.

And he hid a smile as Craig took a sip and grimaced.

"So, not a whiskey drinker after all."

Craig shrugged, the look of distaste still on his features as he placed the glass down. 

"You can order what you want. I didn't bring you to a bar that will lynch you for not ordering a beer or a whiskey." Stan commented as he took a sip of his own drink. 

"I'll keep that in mind."

_"Well I love her, and I love to fish, I spend all day out on this lake, and hell is all I catch."_

A song played in the background. And it was a good way for Stan to ease into the conversation.

"Kenny loves this song. Always sings it when it comes on and he's drunk." He gestured with his glass towards the speakers that hung from the ceiling.

"..That sounds like Kenny."

So, there was a topic that could open up to tightly closed clam after all.

"Can never tell if it's the genre he likes, or the fact he gets to practice his 'southern accent'. Or maybe he does it to piss Cartman off."

"All three."

Stan laughed.

"You're probably right there." And he took another sip of his drink, noting that Craig, despite Stan's advice, was soldiering on with his drink.

_"Today she met me at the door, said I would have to choose, if I hit that fishin' hole today_

_She'd be packin' all her things, and she'd be gone by noon"_

"So, why a motel?"

"..It's complicated."

Stan rubbed a finger lightly against the condensation on his glass. 

"I ain't got anywhere to be."

Craig looked at him then.

"Why do you even care?"

Stan considered the words carefully. 

"You and I. We're cut from a similar cloth. We're not like the Kenny's, or the Kyle's of the world. Or your friend Clyde. Hearts on their sleeve, even when they are trying to hide stuff."

And he gestured at Craig with his head.

"They turn their shit outwards you see. Everyone knows when they need help."

  
  


_"Well I'm gonna miss her, When I get home. But right now I'm on this lake shore, And I'm sittin' in the sun"_

  
  


"Us. We tend to turn that inwards. People may not know anything's even wrong. But that don't make it any less destructive. We just let it eat at us rather than other people. And sometimes, we turn to what we need to, to get by."

And he took another sip of his drink, as if to illustrate.

Craig didn't reply, but watched Stan carefully, not agreeing, not denying.

"See, the thing about quieter people, is they can tend to notice more. Especially when watching people that are really obvious with how they feel. Like Kenny, like your friend Clyde. We can pick up what they don't tell us."

_"I'm sure it'll hit me, when I walk through that door tonight, that I'm gonna miss her, oh, lookie there, I've got a bite."_

  
  


"...Kenny broke our link." Craig said flatly, following with what was less a sip and more a gulp, and Stan felt for him when he realised what he's done, as he struggled to compose himself.

"Why?"

"...He thinks his feelings aren't real, that they're caused by the link."

"...He's always been an idiot with decision-making. How did he even manage that?" Stan asked, as if asking about the weather. His glass was emptying was a stray thought as he took a larger sip.

"His friend Damien helped him."

Stan slammed the glass down quickly on the bar, his calm demeanor shifting to one of wariness.

"Damien's here?" He asked. Craig, looking slightly taken aback at the reaction, nodded.

"You know him?"

Stan laughed bitterly. 

"Everyone our age knows him. I told Kenny he was fucking bad news. But he's never believed me."

He glanced to Craig.

"You need to understand something. Something about this town. What you're getting yourself into."

Craig's brow was furrowed slightly at this.

"South Park is a nest for...weird. For unnatural, for supernatural. This town isn't the quiet, peaceful looking thing you probably think it is. And if Damien has 'helped' Kenny break your link, you need to know. Damien is not some random meddler."

"Then what is he?"

Stan paused, considering Craig carefully for a moment. 

"Damien's a demon. As in, the literal son of Satan."

Craig gave him a sceptical look. Stan shrugged.

"Disbelieve if you want. Doesn't change the truth. And if he helped Kenny,it wasn't out of the 'goodness of his heart'. He always has an agenda of some kind. And if his agenda is to break the link between you and Kenny...well, you've got a choice to make. But if you fight this, expect pushback. In a big way."

"I can handle him."

"I don't think you quite understand. Remember that pandemic we had? The really bad one? The global one? Where everyone was in lockdown for basically a year? Because I damn well do. That was Damien's response to 'being bored'. Wanted to see how quickly humans came up with a solution, and laugh at us running around like headless chickens. He always brings trouble when he comes to South Park."

"...Why the hell do you hang out with this guy?"

"We don't. If he turns up, we're cordial and pleasant."

"Kenny was at his house."

"And I've told Kenny over and over that he's fucking trouble. But he seems convinced that they're friends. That Damien 'understands' him in a way we can't. Whatever the hell that means. They've always been friends, so sometimes Damien has to be..put up with for the sake of peace. And sometimes, Damien has helped us out. It's complicated. He's like Cartman..sorta. A friend who's also an enemy."

Stan gestured to the barkeep, looking at Craig, who shook his head.

"Same again Shaun."

"So. Damien is a demon. As in Hell. And eternal damnation."

"South Park is a weird town." Stan agreed.

"So. I have to go toe to toe with a...demon."

"I'll be honest Craig. You don't have to do shit. Your link is broken. You could walk away from all of this."

"And what about Kenny?"

Stan shrugged

"We'll deal with it. Our group I mean. We're used to dealing with dangerous stuff. And it hasn't gotten any of us killed yet."

There was silence in the wake of that statement.

"I'm not leaving." 

"Even if Kenny wanted you to? Maybe he broke your link because he just doesn't want to be with you."

"If he tells me to leave, I will. I'm not leaving for anyone else."

Stan looked at him, and then chuckled, shaking his head slightly. 

  
  


"Guess we'd better find you a place to stay then. Motel isn't a long term solution. There's a spare room at mine, it you want it."

Craig eyed him carefully.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I've seen what you're like. And Kenny's about as subtle as a freight train through a bank. Even without him telling us, it was pretty obvious what was going on. If you and Kenny ever fix things, you should work on your standing in silence for minutes on end. Even if it's not normal, all it takes is one kid who grew up around weirdness to realise what you were doing.”  
  
Stan cracked his neck slightly, feeling satisfaction in the relief.  
  
“And I kept an eye out, just watching. And I really wasn't sure what I thought, especially with the scene you two had in the restaurant. Honestly, I thought you'd fucked things up that day we spoke, when you were in his truck. But it got me to thinking. Kenny left you his keys."  
  
He swirled the liquid in his glass around as he spoke, focusing on the movements of the liquid. 

"Then of course, I saw how worried you were about him that night in Denver, and I thought 'Kenny's got this one wrapped around his little finger'. He has a real talent for that, and he can be a brat about it. And then imagine my surprise, when you slung him over your shoulder, treating him like he was a child having a tantrum. And I looked at all these things, and realised. Kenny trusts you, you'll protect him, but won't coddle him, you'll let him stand up for himself, but most importantly, you won't put up with his shit when he's being one."

He paused for a drink.

"Kenny's met a few of those. One thing about coming from a small town, we tend to know each other's business. And the way he can play those spineless saps like fiddles. And I thought you were just another of those. That the way you laid him out in your fight was a fluke. Great way to use your head by the way." Stan gave a lazy grin.

"...You trust me because I knocked your friend out one time, and forcibly carried him into the motel room another time?"

Stan laughed.

"Well when you put it like that, it sounds strange."

"Because it IS strange."

"I trust you, because you've got Kenny's trust, and his best interests in mind, whether he agrees with those best interests or not. We're all close, our group, and we will absolutely tell one another when one of us is being a fucktard. Kenny's all kinds of charming when people he dated first met him, but they gave him an inch, so he took a mile. Not maliciously, he just likes to test the limits of what's allowed. And he knows we'll all call him out for being a dick. And you've proved that you will too."

Craig seemed to sit in silence, mulling his words. Stan decided to add a final thought.

"Plus, I don't think you understand just how much he loves that damn truck. He doesn't give the keys to just anyone. Pretty sure I'm the only other one he's let drive her."

"...Thanks Marsh. I'll take you up on your offer."

Stan nodded, and finished his glass. 

  
  


* * *

  
Kyle was finishing up the dishes when he heard the door.

"I'll get it" he called, shaking his hands dry, before giving up and grabbing for a kitchen cloth.   
  
If he'd've been asked to bet on who was most likely to be at the door, he would have lost.  
  
Because Kenny stood there.  
  
"Who is it bubby?"  
  
"Kenny"  
  
"Okay then. Has he eaten? We still have leftovers."  
  
Kenny shook his head slightly.  
  
"He's good mom"  
  
"Okay then bubbalah."  
  
Kyle looked at Kenny. He had the dead eyed look of someone who just...didn't care. He'd seen that look on Stan in their younger years. It was a scary look.   
  
"Wanna stay the night?" Was all he needed to ask.  
  
Kenny nodded.  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...These two. They're missing everything that the other means.
> 
> Craig's being an awkward boy who has the most resting of bitch faces when he's unsure where they stand, and Kenny needs to stop being so damn doubtful about everything that ever existed.


	5. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig scoffed.
> 
> “What the hell do you know about love?” 
> 
> .....  
> 
> 
> “What the hell do you know about love?” 
> 
> Kenny lashed out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter, but one that gets things a little more sorted out. Because you can't underestimate the different types of love.  
> There's a lot of purposeful parallels in this chapter as well.
> 
> Enjoy <3

* * *

## 

##  **CHAPTER FIVE**

##  **Love**

* * *

**Chapter Five Song** **('Stan's Gang')** **:** Hidden Citizens, Ranya - United  
 **Chapter Five Song** **('Stan's Gang'):** Five for Fighting - All for One  
 **Chapter Five Song ('Craig and those Guys'):** Centimeter - Watching Each Other's Back  
 **Chapter Five Song ('Craig and those Guys'):** 12 Stones: We Are One  
  


* * *

  
  
Craig was starting to regret taking Stan’s offer just a little. The walk back had been silent, which suited him just fine, but the reality of the situation made him realise just how unprepared he was. He didn’t exactly have any overnight stuff with him, his parents...well, they were still away, but they would be back, and they’d wonder where the hell he was. Why he was two hours away in South Park of all places. He...had a lot he needed to catch them up on.  
  
Plus...what was he even supposed to _do_ about the situation? He’d told Stan that he was going to stay, to help them against whatever Damien had planned in all of this.

  
But Kenny wanted to be friends. Just friends.  
  
And he didn’t quite know how to handle that. He had blocked it out, if he was honest, and was still doing so. Solutions came before feeling after all. Him feeling...well, it wasn’t going to help anyone.  
  
It was a tough situation. He could try to change Kenny’s mind, but then that would be forcing Kenny into a direction he might not want. And he could leave things as they were, try and build a foundation of friendship with him. But that felt like a lie. It wasn’t as if he could only see Kenny as a friend.  
  
So, what was the right answer?  
  
And….there was definitely something he wasn’t quite willing to address just yet. The simple fact that he was pissed off at Kenny. Yeah, he cared about him, loved him even, and wanted to give him space. But he was also really pissed off at him.  
  
For worrying him again, for not talking to him, for not discussing a decision that affected both of them, for trusting Damien and not him, for not answering his damn phone!  
  
He clenched his fist. And then noticed what he was doing, and forced himself to unclench it.

Because things hadn’t already been hard enough with a new link, and distance, now they had to deal with all this shit too. And he had to somehow defend his soulmate turned friend but not really against a demon that clearly wanted more than what he was telling Kenny.

But Kenny somehow didn’t notice this?  
  
  
“Kenny’s an asshole.” He muttered. Before realising that he’d actually said that out loud. To Kenny’s friend. Shit.  
  
  
He heard a chuckle in reply, as dark blue eyes met his own in a sideways glance.  
  
  
“He is. He's _our_ asshole. Surprised you’ve only just realised that.”  
  
Craig didn’t want to rant to this person. He was better than that. If he ever did any kind of ranting, it was....well, he didn't really _rant_ if he was honest.

But Stan had apparently seen something in his expression, as he simply looked skyward for a moment, slowing their walk.  
  
“It’s okay to let it out you know. It’s probably pretty painful, right?”

And of course, he wasn't going to 'let it out', he wasn't about to heart to heart with a person he barely considered a friend. He didn't have heart to hearts with his own friends.

He didn't have them full stop.   
  
“He’s...being a one sided, selfish asshole that doesn’t give a damn if he worries or upsets everyone around him, as long as he solves his own problems, and he tries to solve them in the most reckless and stupid ways.”

Or maybe it was time for a change, and his brain had ascertained that talking about his feelings was somehow logical. And once the words started, they were hard to stop. He wanted to, but the wall he’d kept the issue behind was...cracking.

Like hot water poured over ice, his anger, his hurt was cracking his usually cool facade. And he hated it when it happened, but happening it was, regardless of his consent.  
  
He blamed the whiskey he’d been drinking prior to this. Because he refused to acknowledge that once again, the catalyst was a poison he hadn't chosen to swallow, but was within him nonetheless. And this poison had ways of breaking him that even the most expert of sadistic fucks hadn't discovered.

Because he fucking loved this stupid poison that ran through him, didn't he? And he loved it, even as it burned him, scalded him, hurt him.   
  
  
“...I don’t own him...but this link...it wasn’t just his. It’s not as if we can go off and find other people now. That’s it. That was our one time shot, and it’s fucked. And you know what? I...wouldn’t have cared. If he’d wanted to still give us a shot, I wouldn’t have cared if we lost it all.”

Because even if it killed him, he honestly didn't think he had the willpower to think otherwise. And he sounded utterly pathetic, even to himself, he knew that. He wasn't supposed to be this...fucking weak, this...defeated by one fucking person. 

There was an extreme irony to this being the same person he'd literally defeated in a fight. The blond's unknowing revenge was apt, and far more painful than the physical wounds he'd initially been defeated with.  
  
He closed his mouth before thoughts could become words, joining the already too many words spoken, that had tumbled out. That was more than enough oversharing.  
  
And there was silence for a moment, and he found that although the swirling mass of angry feelings was still there, his oversharing had helped thin the fog of anger enough for him to recognise a sensation that Kenny was all too much an expert in making him feel.  
  
  
Hurt.

He fucking hurt. So much. He could choke on the feeling that squeezed his chest tighter and tighter.

  
  
And Stan was wrong. He couldn't walk away from this mess. It had never been an option. To go back to his normal, boring life, back to his friends, his city, and spend the summer with them. It would have been so easy to do. And no one would have stopped him.  
  
But he was still here, tied to Kenny in an entirely different way. And it wasn't something Kenny could ask a demon to simply cut. Because without even knowing, even _realising,_ he'd cut his own bonds, but left Craig ensnared.  
  
  
  
“...He’s such a fucking asshole.”  
  
  
“You’re pretty chatty when drunk, Tucker.”  
  
Craig opened his mouth, to tell him not to use that name, that he wasn't drunk. But, he closed it again when he realised. He didn’t...care if Stan used it, it was oddly fine. And yeah, three whiskies probably counted as a little bit drunk.

He really should have had a fourth, shouldn't he? 

  
Craig must’ve given Stan some sort of look, because Stan laughed and held up his hands.  
  
  
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it. Just an observation. Probably good for you anyway. Keeping stuff bottled up isn’t good for you.”  
  
  
“...Why can’t I fucking leave? Like you said, it would be so easy to just walk away. Except it's not easy at all. In fact, it's impossible. I don’t have any choice but to stay."  
  
  
Stan hummed at the remark.  
  
  
“Love’s like that.”  
  
  
Craig scoffed.  
  
  
“What the hell do you know about love?”

  
  
“You’d be surprised.”

  
  
“Then surprise me.”  
  
  
Stan huffed out a laugh.  
  
  
“You know, you calling Kenny an asshole is very pot kettle black, right? You’re one too.”  
  
Craig flipped him off. Mostly out of instinct. Who cares if it just proved him right? He wasn't in the mood. He wanted to keep hating and loving Kenny simultaneously. It was a cold burn. And he was trying to ascertain if he wanted to recoil from or embrace it.  
  
  
Stan shook his head, with a smile.   
  
  
“But don’t worry. Barring Leo and Kyle most of the time, our whole friendship group is made up of assholes. In another life, you might’ve fit right in. Plus, I respect a straight shooter.”  
  
  
And they were silent for a moment, as Craig really had nothing to add to that, and just as he was sure that Stan wasn’t going to share anything further, he spoke, more into the air than to Craig.  
  
  
“Love...you ever loved someone you lost? Couldn’t be with? And I don’t mean Kenny, that one’s still up in the air.”  
  
Craig thought back. Back to the list of people he’d loved. The list of blonds with issues. Tweek, who he’d lost to another, but that hadn’t been love. It had been adorable, and cute, but not love, at least, not romantic. Thomas...again, different, not the flavour of love. Gregory….

He could recall the slightest twinge of pain at the reminiscance of Gregory. Not the same as the arctic lava he was currently contesting with, but it fulfilled the specifications of the question.  
  
“...Yeah. Once.”  
  
  
“Then you know where I’m coming from. And you wanna know the really bad thing about small mountain towns?”  
  
A million answers came to mind, at that question. None of them particularly flattering. Wisely, he stayed silent.   
  
“You always see everyone, all the time. You see the person you know you love...d. Day in, day out, without fail. You see them with the person they left you for. The soulmate they left you for. And you realise, it’s not even a battle you can fight. Because once someone meets their soulmate, it’s all over for everyone else involved. Doesn’t matter how close you were, or your relationship before. That’s all done. No one can compete with a soulmate link at the end of the day. And the real kicker is that the other person doesn’t _want_ to. Even if they loved you before, once that link is made-”  
  
  
Stan clicked his fingers.  
  
  
“-Any feelings they had for you are gone. Like magic. Except you’re still feeling it on your end. And then you get to watch them start their life together.”  
  
  
Craig was filled with a new feeling. Sympathy.  
  
“What was their name?”  
  
  
Stan smiled.  
  
  
“Why’s that important?”  
  
Craig shrugged.  
  
  
“It’s not.”  
  
  
Craig felt like he should say...something. But before he could even formulate a further response, Stan had stopped and gestured.  
  
  
“This is my place.” And he stepped up to the front, unlocking the door.  
  
And the first sound that was heard was the sound of two adults arguing.  
  
“-andy I swear if you don’t put that down this instant-”  
  
  
“What Sharon, then what?”  
  
  
Stan rolled his eyes, and gestured for Craig to follow him through to the kitchen, where two adults were arguing. One held a bottle of wine and was gesticulating with it in an absurdly overdramatic manner.

They both turned to look at Stan and himself as they entered.  
  
  
“Heeeey, Staaaan. And you brought...wait...hang on...Sharon, SHARON."

"...What is it Randy?"

"Did you have twins and not tell me?” The man slurred, swaying slightly, his eyes wide as he looked at Craig. The woman, clearly Sharon, rolled her eyes,  
  
  
“For god’s sake Randy, they look nothing alike!”  
  
  
“Yeah they do..both got….hair. Do we have three kids?”

And he pointed at Craig.  
  
  
“You’re...Stan 2.”

...What the fuck?  
  
  
Stan, doing a remarkable job of holding his smile in, gestured to Craig.  
  
  
“This is Craig, friend of mine. He’s visiting South Park, but has nowhere to stay. I said he could use Grandpa’s old room.”  
  
  
“Stan…” The woman began, but the man interrupted.  
  
  
“Sharon! We can’t tell him NO. He’s our SON. Where’s he gonna GO? Huh??”  
  
  
“If it’s a problem, I can find a motel.” Craig offered to the parent that wasn’t currently inebriated.  
  
  
“NO! You are my boy and you will stay in this house young man!” And the drunk man weaved his way over to Craig, placing both hands on his shoulders, somehow still managing to hold the wine bottle between two fingers as he did so.  
  
  
“One day, you will inherit everything. But don’t tell Sharon. Or Stan 1. Or your sister.”  
  
  
“RANDY MARSH!”  
  
  
The man swung round, the wine bottle sloshing as he did so.  
  
  
“What Sharon, what??”  
  
  
The woman, Sharon, sighed and looked to Stan.  
  
  
“You two had better head upstairs. Sorry about this Craig. You’re welcome to stay. Stan, help him get settled in.”  
  
  
“WAIT. We only just reunited! We need to BOND.”  
  
  
Stan gestured back the way they’d came, to the stairs.

"Come BACK STAN 2!"  
  
“Sorry about that. Should’ve warned you. My dad is...eccentric. He’s especially weird when drunk. And you’re not the only one. It’s the same with the others when they stay over.”  
  
  
“He thinks your friends are his lost sons?” Craig asked sardonically. Stan barked a laugh.  
  
  
“Nah, that’s a...new one. Still, something to laugh about one day.”  
  
  
Craig sincerely hoped that everyone involved would forget it ever happened. He and Stan looked nothing alike.   
  
  


* * *

“You look like you wanna cry.” Kyle commented as he settled back on the beanbag.  
  
He had taken Kenny upstairs, thrown him some spare clothes, and had switched the lights off, leaving the room lit by his lamps. He’d already been in pyjamas when Kenny had arrived, and they had done this dance enough times that Kyle had already found the t-shirt Kenny had left over once and thrown it at his head.   
  
“I’m not gonna fucking cry.” Kenny's tone was utterly unimpressed. And the mask was firmly wedged in place. Kyle wished that he could fast track to the part where Kenny just took it off and just said what needed to be said, stopped avoiding shit. Normal human stuff.   
  
“Missing Craig?”  
  
“Yes. Wait no...I dunno! Maybe!”  
  
“Threadsnap?”  
  
“No…”  
  
Kyle sighed. He didn’t want to play the ‘pulling teeth’ game. So he threw a pillow at the blond. Who responded with an indignant squawk.  
  
“The fuck Kyle?!”  
  
“Stop moping and tell me what’s wrong. There is nothing that could be that bad, that can’t be solved.”  
  
Kenny gave him a venomous look as he held the pillow, looking as if he was debating returning the favour, but holding onto it instead.  
  
“Fuck you Kyle.”  
  
“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. And I’m not going to drag every little piece from you. Use your words dude.”  
  
“I fucked up.”  
  
“Well that’s new.”  
  
“Fucking-where’s your sympathy?”  
  
“Kenny, we’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve heard you say that line a LOT. Forgive me if I’m a little too used to it by now. I'm desensitised.”  
  
Kenny hotly opened his mouth as if to reply, and then stopped, his anger draining as he half hugged the pillow, and replaced with a slightly sad smile.  
  
“See, this was why I needed to come to you. I knew you’d be like this, and it’s what I needed.”  
  
“Kenny...c’mon man. Tell me what’s wrong. Then we’ll fix it.”  
  
“This can’t be fixed Kyle.”

  
“I should really start keeping a tally of phrases you always use.”  
  
“Kyle, dude seriously!”  
  
Kyle just gave him a look.  
  
“I broke it..”  
  
“Broke what?”  
  
“The link. With Craig.”  
  
Kyle sat up.  
  
“Firstly. Fucking why? Secondly. Fucking how?”  
  
“Long story. And Damien.”  
  
Kyle paled at those words.  
  
“Damien’s here?”  
  
Kenny nodded, and Kyle sighed at the revelation. Right then.  
  
“I’m gonna make some tea. You're gonna sit there and figure out a way to explain everything.” He said firmly, before uncrossing his legs to stand.  
  
Before he left the room, he heard a question, in a small voice.  
  
“Is it okay if I stay?”  
  
“...You know you don’t have to ask.” Were his final words, before he left the room. Pulling his phone out of his pyjama pocket, he tapped out a message.  
  
  
 **KYLE:** _Call me as soon as you’re free_  
 **KYLE:** _We might have a bit of a problem. Damien’s back._  
  
  
And he quietly padded downstairs, past Ike, who sat watching a Canadian drama of some kind. Ike, focused on the events on the screen, didn’t acknowledge him beyond a quick glance.  
  
Kyle flipped the kettle on, rifling through the cupboard for tea. He didn’t really care which kind. Probably herbal.  
  
He’d always rolled his eyes at Cartman calling him a ‘grandma’ for drinking tea. The first time he’d said it, Kyle had whipped a hot teabag right at his face. Unfortunately, his mom had been in the room, and had told him in no uncertain terms that he was to promise to not do that again. Cartman had been a real ham actor about it as well.  
  
Why he let him into his house he didn’t know. He and Cartman had a...complicated relationship in general. Their whole group dynamic was weird, but it worked for them.   
  
And as he waited for the kettle to boil, he deliberated what he’d been told. Kenny had broken the link with Craig. Or more correctly, Damien had done it.  
  
  
Why was Damien back in town? The last time they’d seen him had been...well, about three years ago, And he’d turned South Park upside down. Which he supposed was a regular occurrence, but the point still stood. It wasn’t a good sign if he was back and was messing with links-  
  
  
Wait.  
  
  
Why the hell would he want to break Kenny’s soul link to start with. Kyle had never understood why, but Kenny and Damien had always been friends. Even if Kenny had asked him to, why would Damien do such a thing? Damien always did things because it suited his purposes, no matter Kenny’s arguments to the contrary.  
  
Damien wanted something, and breaking that link hadn’t been a favour to Kenny, but something else, disguised as a favour, he was fucking sure of it.  
  
And as he poured hot water into two mugs, he felt a vibration from his pocket. Leaving the tea to brew, he picked up his phone.  
  
  
 **STAN:** _Yeah. Craig told me._  
  
  
Craig? He didn’t realise Stan and Craig were talking.  
  
  
 **KYLE:** _He messaged you?_  
 **STAN:** _He’s staying at mine._  
  
  
He was in South Park? Why? What reason would he have to be here after they’d broken the link-  
  
Wait  
  
Wait a minute  
  
Kenny wouldn’t....would he?  
  
  
 **KYLE:** _Do you know anything about this whole link breaking business? Kenny is being...Kenny about it. If you know the TL;DR version, it’d help with not pulling my hair/his hair out._  
 **STAN:** _Kenny was being dumb, thought link was fabricating feelings and stuff, wanted to get rid of it. Went to Damien, who agreed to do it. Didn’t talk to Craig about it beforehand though, so you can imagine how well that went down._  
 **KYLE:** _Fuck…._  
 **STAN:** _Is Kenny messaging you about it?_  
 **KYLE:** _He’s at mine atm_  
 **STAN:** _See if you can find out details. What Damien did, what Kenny asked him to do, what happened after. Also...someone should tell Cartman._  
 **KYLE:** _NOT IT._  
 **STAN:** _Fine. I’ll let him know. I wanna be ready if Damien pulls any shit_  
 **KYLE:** _Any more shit._  
 **STAN:** _This is just the beginning. And I’m not letting him fuck up things again._  
 **KYLE:** _Do we do anything about the idiots?_  
 **STAN:** _Not much we can do. They’ll have to figure it out between them. I’m more worried about Damien._  
 **KYLE:** _Why’s he staying at yours then?_  
 **STAN:** _...Because where Kenny’s safety is concerned, I trust his judgement. He’ll be useful to have around. He’s a good foil between Damien and Kenny as well._  
 **STAN:** _...Plus it’ll make Kenny happy._  
 **KYLE:** _Call me later_  
 **STAN:** _Will do. Gotta go. Dad is trying to say goodnight to his second son before he goes to sleep (long story, don’t ask)_  
  
And Kyle returned his phone to his pocket, grabbing for the mugs. And Kenny had moved to his bed, looking at something on his phone.  
  
“Hey dude.”  
  
The phone slipped from Kenny’s hold as he was startled, and it was only his quick reflexes that prevented him from getting a faceful of phone.  
  
“Shit man, warn someone before you sneak up on them.”  
  
Kyle snorted. He’d done no such thing. It wasn’t his fault Kenny had been so distracted.  
  
  
“What had you so engrossed? Porn?”  
  
  
Kenny sat up.  
  
  
“A sex joke? From you? Something must be wrong.”  
  
“That sounds like deflecting. Nice try though. Take your tea and start talking. I’m not sitting here for the rest of the night with you moping and giving sad eyes to your phone.”  
  
“I think I fucked everything up.”  
  
“We established that already. What else?”  
  
“Fucker. So, remember last time we had our tea talk?”  
  
“In the motel right?”  
  
“Yeah. And I got all panicked and shit. Well. Things recently have been going really well with me and Craig. But I couldn’t stop fucking doubting it. Like, the link between us, I thought it was making me feel...shit I wouldn’t normally.”  
  
“Totally logical thought process for anyone normal.”  
  
“If you’re gonna be a sarcastic asshole-”  
  
“-Keep going, you’re not getting out of it by pretending to be indignant.”  
  
“...So, I came back here to-OH SHIT.” And Kenny sat up and started texting.  
  
“What the hell is wrong?”  
  
“Uh, Stotch family drama. I said I’d pick some things up for Leo. And I totally forgot with everything that was-oh fuck off Kevin with your messages! Seriously!”  
  
“So, you said you’d come get some things…Where were you coming from that Leo...I don’t....Kenny, you need to tell me shit in the right order.”  
  
“Shit. Didn’t I tell you I’d gone to Denver?”  
  
Kyle sighed, pushing against Kenny a little.  
  
“Move up.”  
  
Kenny obliged, shifting sideways so they could share the bed.  
  
“Right. So...let’s try this again. When did you go to Denver?”  
  
“Uh…’bout 4 hours after we hung out yesterday.”  
  
“And Leo….”  
  
“-Took him with me.”  
  
“Because of that guy.”  
  
“Yeah, Letterman. Shit, I mean Clyde.”  
  
“And you drove to Denver during the night because…”  
  
Kenny flushed.  
  
“Is that important?”  
  
“Kinda.”  
  
“...I went to see Craig.”  
  
“Well duh. I could figure out that much.”  
  
“Well that’s all you're getting.”  
  
“...Never thought you’d be the prude. That was why you were going, right?”  
  
“I missed him, and the threadsnap was being a pain, and yes, it was totally a booty call as well. Can we fucking move on?”  
  
“Sure. What happened next?”  
  
“Well, stayed over. Next morning, Leo’s asshole of a dad calls, gets angry, etc etc. I tell Leo I’d grab him some things, so I head back alone. And then I bump into Damien. No wait, I met him before then.”  
  
“You met him before? When?”  
  
“He was at the gas station I stopped at on the way to Denver.”  
  
“...And you didn’t find that weird?”  
  
“Why would I?”  
  
“...Kenny, he’s a demon that can appear in South Park from Hell instantly. Why the HELL would he be at a gas station between here and Denver?”  
  
“I dunno! He said he had some shit to do, and that South Park was one of the places. Anyway, not important. Point was, met him, but that was yesterday. Also, I had the weirdest fucking cup of coffee from that place. Like, it had the consistency of gravy."

"As much as I want to hear about your... questionable choices in regards to coffee, let's focus on one terrible life decision at a time here. What happened next with Damien?"

"Well, today, I met him again when back in South Park, and he’d just moved into a house. Did you know he’s going college?”  
  
“Up here? I feel fucking bad for the person who has to room with him.”  
  
“So, he invites me round for some drinks. And I say, what the hell? And then I get drunk, and talk too much about stuff....Probably still a bit tipsy now actually...didn't sleep it off that much..."

"...Great. Drink your damn tea. And you said 'stuff'. What kinda stuff?”  
  
Kenny squirmed.  
  
“...Dude...C'mon. What kinda stuff?”  
  
“Craig stuff, okay? Stupid gushy, mushy Craig stuff! Also I haven’t slept properly in like...4 days. It was totally that and the alcohol.”  
  
“...And let me guess, Damien got into your head about it, and then offered to help you break the link out of the kindness of his little demon heart?”  
  
Kenny elbowed him slightly.  
  
“Dude. I made the choice.”  
  
“...Why did you even make the choice?”  
  
“Honestly? Because I didn’t think what I felt was REAL. I needed to..I dunno, prove something to myself. So I text Craig to tell him.”  
  
“You didn’t even talk about it with him beforehand?”  
  
“No. And I already feel plenty shitty enough about it without you haranguing me about it.”  
  
“...So, Damien breaks the link?”  
  
“Yeah. And then I...fell asleep. And a couple of hours later, woke up, and Craig has driven here.”  
  
“And you talked about it like mature adults?”  
  
“...”  
  
“Kenny?”  
  
Kenny had gone silent. Kyle carefully put an arm around him, pulling him close.  
  
“Dude...what happened?”  
  
“...You can’t tell anyone.”  
  
“Tell anyone what?”  
  
“...It didn’t work…”  
  
“The link break didn’t work?”  
  
“No, that worked. I mean, even without the link...Nothing changed.”  
  
“That’s good though, right?”  
  
Kenny shook his head, dropping it onto his knees.  
  
  
  
“Nothing changed on my end. I still felt...feel the same way. I wasn’t sure at first, when I was talking to him. But it’s exactly the same. But it’s not on his end. He...seemed fine to just take it or leave it. And that’s when I realised, it was a good thing I broke the link, because now he doesn’t have to fucking like me just because he’s told to.”  
  
“And he told you this? He said _‘I don’t like you that way’?”_  
  
“Pretty much. Maybe...” Kenny mumbled into his knees.  
  
Kyle doubted that.  
  
“What did he say?”  
  
“He asked me what I wanted, that it was up to me, that it depended on me. Like I was the only one involved. Like he didn’t care either way, or was only going along with what I wanted. So...I told him I wanted to be friends.”  
  
Kyle wanted to strangle his friend.

He refrained from doing so, but oh, it was tempting how much he wanted to shake some sense into this fucking idiot.

And he kept himself silent, because if he spoke, he’d let all the anger out.

"And he was okay with that?"

"He was really okay with it. Like, he couldn't wait to leave, Kyle. Said something like _'if that's what you want'_ , and then he left. Almost as if he couldn't wait to leave."

Either Kenny was right (very unlikely given his track record for things like this), and Craig didn't feel anything.

Or, the more likely scenario, Kenny had really, really fucking hurt Craig, and he'd left out of self preservation.

Seeing as Kenny's feelings hadn't _'magically vanished',_ when the link was broken, Kyle would've assumed that Kenny _might have_ had the brain capacity to put two and two together and realise that it probably meant that Craig's feelings hadn't either. 

But that would probably be giving Kenny far too much credit. Either his stupidity or powers of denial were a superpower at this stage.

“...And he’s gone now. Probably went back home...”  
  
  
Kyle reached for his tea, needing something to distract him, to stop him from throttling the blond. 

Why did Kenny have to make something that was working, and was so simple, so difficult and complicated, and hurt EVERYONE?  
  
Finally, after a few soothing sips, when he’d gotten a rein on his temper, he put his mug down once more.  
  
  
“Kenny. Do you like him?”  
  
Kenny lifted his head. And nodded. And Kyle paused for a moment. 

"Kenny."

"Yeah?" 

Kenny had a vulnerable expression at the moment. From his last confession. It was open.

And maybe it was a 'dick move', but Kyle needed the answers to this next question.

  
“Do you love him?”

  
  
Kenny instantly blanched at the question. And in that one moment, before Kenny closed down, Kyle saw his expression, his eyes, and had all the answers he needed. Everything suddenly clicked into place.

So that was it.

  
“Ah…I see..."

"Fucking what?" And Kenny had covered everything up in an expression of hastily built anger.

"You love him." Kyle said calmly. Which only seemed to rile Kenny up in contrast.

"I fucking DON'-"

"You do. You fucking do. And you’re scared.”  
  
“I’m not fucking scared of anything!” Kenny spat, his eyes blue fire. But Kyle saw the deer in the headlights panic underneath the quickly thrown up shroud of anger.  
  
“You are.” Kyle replied, far more calmly than he felt.  
  
“Why the FUCK would I be scared?”  
  
  
“Because you're in love. And you've never been in love before. And you’re scared of being in love. That’s what all this actually all comes down to. You blamed the link for ‘fake feelings’, and you doubted Craig’s feelings. You had something to 'prove to yourself'. But at the core of it, you’re just scared of love.”  
  
“What the hell do **you** know about love?!” Kenny lashed out.  
  
And it was a spiteful attack brought on by defensiveness. But Kyle had a response that would nullify it.  
  
“More than you apparently. I’m not scared of it for one. And yeah, you’re more ‘experienced’ in other areas of romance. But you fucking suck at feelings, and love. Everything that has gone wrong this weekend, when you started a fight with Craig, when you fucking ran away, when you almost jumped over the table at someone because they’d ‘dared’ to link with your friend. It was all because you were scared of what it all meant. And you kept coming up with **self made** roadblocks, drama queen sessions over distance, and somehow, -despite your best efforts I might add-, you somehow got together."

"But then you STILL found ways to put up roadblocks. Because you know what you did when things were going well? You broke everything. And when you realised that despite breaking everything, you still felt the same? When you were _scared_ because it turned out those feelings you had were the real deal? Those feelings you'd _assured_ yourself were just from the ' _being soulmates'?"_

"You put up the ' _Craig doesn't feel the same, so we should just be friends'_ roadblock. Because you love him, and that scares you, and the idea...the concept that he doesn't feel the same? That he might reject you? That fucking **terrifies** you. So you rejected him first, to protect yourself."

"Because you’re fine when it comes to the physical, because that can be done without loving someone. But any hint of actual sincere closeness, and you immediately try and look for a way to sabotage things. Because underneath all this bullshit and excuses? You're scared. You _**love**_ someone and you're fucking scared shitless of it. Admit it.”

"I...I DON'T fucking LOVE him. You're wrong! I've known him for FOUR days. You don't just fall in love that fucking quickly!"

"You can. You did. Admit it."

  
“That’s not fucking true. I don't lo-”  
  
“ **Admit** it.”  
  
“No. Because it’s bullshit. I'm NOT scared and I'm NOT in love. Fuck your pseudo psych bullshit.”  
  
“Admit it Kenny. You admit it, and we can move past all this.”  
  
“I’m not admitting shit!”  
  
“Then you’ll just keep doing the same stuff.”

  
  
And for the killing blow.

  
  
“...And you’ll just keep hurting Craig. Over and over. Like you’ve been doing. Like you ARE doing.”  
  
  
Kenny flinched as if he’d been slapped. And he shoved at Kyle’s feet, moving them out of the way as he slid off the bed.  
  
  
“Where are you going?” Kyle asked as Kenny pulled on his trainers.  
  
  
“Fucking home. I don’t have to deal with this shit.”  
  
“Dude, it’s like...eleven.”

  
  
“Fuck you.”  
  
“Kenny, for once, in your fucking life, could you NOT run away when people are trying to HELP YOU!”

And that was it, Kyle had lost his temper. He was so pissed off with this bullshit.  
  
Kenny held up a finger, pointing in his direction.  
  
“You always act like you know best, that you know better than anyone. Well you fucking don’t! You just like to act like it. Well you don’t know shit! You haven’t dated anyone, you haven’t fucked anyone, you haven’t linked with ANYONE! You don’t understand any of this.”  
  
  
  
And Kyle wanted to lash out at the hurtful words. Because they stung. But Kyle wasn’t Kenny. He’d had his outburst, and he knew that matching lightning with fire wouldn’t go well. So, instead, he stood up, making his way over to Kenny.

Kenny tensed, eyes narrowed as if expecting a punch.  
  
  
“You can’t fucking take me Kyle. You-”  
  
Kyle hugged him. Tightly. Locking his arms against his side so he couldn’t escape it.  
  
“Kyle, get the fuck off.”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Get off me!” and Kenny struggled against the hug, but Kyle held fast. Kenny was a great fighter, but strong, he was not. Kyle had the advantage of good diet and basketball practice.  
  
“You’re a fucking idiot. But you’re my idiot. Stop fighting me, and realise I’m just trying to help.”  
  
“Kyle. Let. Go.”  
  
  
“Because you’re wrong you know. I do know something about love. I love our group. I love Stan, I love Leo, I even... love Cartman. And I hate that you forced me to say that last one.”  
  
“Kyle…”  
  
“And I love you. And we’re gonna sort all this out. But you have to fucking work with me Kenny. Don’t fight against me. I'm in your corner. WE'RE in your corner. We always have been, just like you’ve always been for us, okay?”  
  
Kenny had stopped struggling, his head now on Kyle’s shoulder, motionless for a moment.  
  
“...You know...you could hug me back jerkwad.”  
  
And Kenny laughed, the sound muffled, as arms came up to return the gesture.  
  
“Hey Kyle?”  
  
“Mm?”  
  
“...I love you too man.”  
  
That was a start.  
  
“...No homo, right?”  
  
“No homo.”  
  


* * *

  
Leo was roused from sleep by his phone. He sleepily answered it.  
  
“...Ken?”  
  
“...It’s fucking me Butters.”  
  
“...Eric? What the-”  
  
“Listen very carefully. Damien is back.”  
  
Leo sat up.  
  
“D-Damien’s back?”  
  
  
Eric sounded bored as he replied.  
  
  
“Yeah. And apparently I’m messenger boy. Stan wants to keep you in the loop. Also, I'm supposed to tell you that guy Craig is in South Park. No idea why that's important.”  
  
“He is? But..Why is Craig there though?”

"Something about Kenny. I dunno. Wasn't really listening."

"Wait what? Did something happen with em?"  
  
“I don’t know. And I don’t care. My world does not revolve around their love life. Ask them yourself. I’m just passing on a message.”  
  
“Well...thanks Eric.”  
  
“Yeah. I’m going now. Call Stan, don’t bother me.”  
  
“Uh…” Leo glanced over to Clyde. Who was awake, and watching him. He mouthed ‘Craig?” questioningly to him.  
  
The phone cut off, and Leo shook his head at the abrupt goodbye. Clyde had sat up.  
  
“Craig’s in South Park? Did he go to help Kenny?”  
  
A text notification made Leo look at his phone.  
  
  
 **KEN:** _Hey Leo. So, my bad. Uh, some shit happened here....I meant to message you earlier. I still need to head to yours to get your stuff._  
 **LEO:** _It’s fine Ken. No rush. Also. Did Craig come to help you out? Apparently he’s in South Park? I thought he was gonna wait for you?_  
 **KEN** : _Uh, we kinda...broke up. I think. Craig’s probably on his way back to Denver._  
 **LEO:** _What happened?_  
  
  
Clyde was having his own conversation on his phone at the same time.  
  
  
  
 **CLYDE:** _Craig! Are you in South Park?_  
 **CRAIG:** _Yup._  
 **CLYDE:** _But..Why? Wasn’t Kenny gonna come back here?_  
 **CRAIG:** _Plan changed. I’m staying in South Park._  
 **CLYDE:** _...What the hell is going on?_  
 **CRAIG:** _It’s fine._  
  
  
  
  
“Apparently Craig is on his way back to Denver.” Leo commented as he read.  
  
“That’s not what Craig just said. He said he’s staying in South Park.”  
  
 **LEO:** _Clyde told me Craig said he’s staying in South Park._  
 **KEN:** _Wait what? He is? Where? Why?_

  
“Do you know why he’s staying?”  
  
“Nope. He’s not said…”  
  
“Ken told me they broke up.”  
  
“They what??”  
  
  
 **CLYDE:** _DUDE. DID YOU AND KENNY BREAK UP??_  
 **CRAIG:** _...I guess_  
 **CLYDE:** _WTF MAN_  
 **CRAIG:** _It’s fine._  
 **CLYDE:** _Like HELL it is! What’s going on?_  
 **CRAIG:** _….Nothing. I’ve got it._  
  
  
  
Clyde cursed quietly.  
  
“What’s up?”  
  
“Craig is being..Craig about it. Won’t tell me anything.” He frowned at his phone.  
  
“Ken’s stopped replying to mine.” Clyde looked worried for a moment, and then brightened.  
  
“I know what to do.”  
  
And he started tapping on his phone, before holding it to his ear.  
  
“Who are you calling?” Leo asked.  
  
“Hey dude. So...Craig and Kenny broke up, but he’s not telling me why, do you think you-Cool….Yeah….I know….He doesn’t…..Okay...Thanks man….Bye.”  
“Who was that?”

  
Clyde grinned.  
  
  
“The one person who can get answers from Craig. Because we love that ass whether he wants us to or not. And he ALWAYS does this. He's like...you need to get him drunk to even start talking about shit kinda person. And we're fine with that, because that's Craig, ya know? But sometimes when shit goes wrong in his life, he doesn't tell us. US, his friends! The audacity. And we're not having any of that. We're all for one, one for all kinda business. So if he's hurting, we're gonna find out why, and then damn well do something about it. HE WILL LET US LOVE HIM. And I'm not afraid to play my trump card to get him to spill.”  
  
Clyde gestured wildly with his arms. Leo giggled.   
  
  


* * *

  
  
Craig lay back on the bed in the darkened room, the household now silent. It was weird in this house. Stan's dad was...really weird. His mom seemed okay, and he had yet to meet the 'legendary bitch sister'.   
  
He needed a plan of what to do next. He had a place to stay at least. He just wasn't sure what the next step was beyond 'not leaving Kenny alone with that demon'. And it seemed like he had an ally in Stan, for Kenny's sake at least.   
  
Kenny might not want him here, but...that didn't mean he wasn't going to protect him. Kenny was one of Craig's precious people now, whether he liked it or not. And just like if Clyde, Tweek, Token or Jimmy were in danger, he'd be here to help Stan and his gang. Because of Kenny.   
  
_"Because love's like that."_ No matter the form it took, right?  
  
And if there was anything he'd learned from his trials in the past, it was that you valued the people you cared about, and protected them. Even if they hated you for it.   
  
He frowned slightly as he looked at his phone.   
  
  
  
**CLYDE:** _DUDE. DID YOU AND KENNY BREAK UP??_  
 **CRAIG:** _...I guess_  
 **CLYDE:** _WTF MAN_  
 **CRAIG:** _It’s fine._  
 **CLYDE:** _Like HELL it is! What’s going on?_  
 **CRAIG:** _….Nothing. I’ve got it._  
  
  
  
  
New messages were coming in from Clyde, but he was ignoring the annoying caps locked messages.  
  
How had Clyde even found out?  
  
He sighed, letting the phone drop to his side as he turned to face away from it. This was his problem. He wasn’t going to drag his friends into this. He was the person that protected them. How could you protect people you endangered.   
  
But it's not like he could ever explain that to them. They'd just have to trust him. Even if Clyde was acting like a dog with a bone about it.   
  
His phone vibrated, and he turned, expecting yet another message from the brunette.   
  
His phone screen lit up with an altogether different image.  
  
And he blinked at the call coming in.  
  
And then frowned.

  
And then cursed.  
  
  
  
  
**TWEEK**  
  
  
  
  
 _Answer_ _Reject_  
  
  
  


Clyde was playing dirty.  
  
  
Fuck.  
  
  
His finger hovered over the answer button, and then pressed it. He brought the phone to his ear.   
  
  
" _Start talking Tucker. Right now."  
  
  
_ He sighed again.   
  
  
"Hey Tweek."  
  


* * *

  
  



End file.
